THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT
 
 Colorado: 
 
 A 
 
 Historical, Descriptive and Statistical Work 
 
 ON THE 
 
 ROCKY MOUNTAIN 
 Gold and Silver Mining Region, 
 
 frank fossett. 
 
 D E N V F. R : 
 
 DAILY TRIBUNE STEAM PRINTING HOUSE, 
 I876.
 
 Entered according 10 act of Congress, in the year 1876, 
 
 l'.v FRANK FOSSETT, 
 
 In Lhi ( lerk's Office of the Librarian of ( ongress, at Washington.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 S^his book, as its name implies, is devoted to Colo- 
 *^cl ; rado. Its contents are historical, discriptive and 
 statistical. The resources, productions, and natural 
 advantages of the new State, are set forth at length. 
 The Mines and Mining Regions receive considerable 
 space and attention. The collection of facts, and 
 figures, although not as complete as could be wished, 
 are the most accurate and extensive ever compiled on 
 Colorado Mines, and is the result of no little care and 
 labor. A record of events from the first settlements, 
 with some account of the struggles, reverses, progress 
 and successes of Mining and Milling for Gold and 
 Silver in the Rocky Mountains, will also be found 
 in these pages. The climatic virtues, physical beau- 
 ties, and general attractions of this part of the far 
 West, receive due attention, with plain unvarnished 
 statements regarding Mining, Farming and Stock 
 growing in Colorado, and the opportunities awaiting 
 capital and labor. Although necessarily imperfect in 
 many respects, the author trusts that much will be 
 found in this volume to interest Colorado as well as 
 eastern readers. 
 
 '
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Geographical Features 
 
 Early History, 
 
 Political and General History, 
 
 Popular votes for Congressional Delegates, State Governments etc. from 
 
 1861 to 1876 inclusive, 
 
 Constitutional Convention, 
 
 Republican and Democratic Tickets for 1876, 
 
 Railways, 
 
 Discripttve Chapter on Colorado, 
 
 Mining Past Failures and Present Succeesses— Cost of Mining and 
 
 Milling, 
 
 How the Precious Metals are Extracted 
 
 ( iilpin County, 
 
 Gilpin County Mining Statistics, 
 
 Stamp Mills and Smelting Works, 
 
 Boston and Colorado Smelting Works 
 
 Mines ol Gilpin County 
 
 Clear Creek County, 
 
 Mining and Bullion Statistics of Clear Creek County 
 
 How the Silver is Extracted from the Ore 
 
 Mines of Clear Creek County, 
 
 Boulder County, 
 
 Caribou k 
 
 Boulder County Mining Statistics. 
 
 The Tellurium Mines 
 
 Jefferson County, . . • 
 
 Park, Lake, and Summit Counties, 
 
 nt County 
 
 The San Juan Country 
 
 (-'arming and Stock Growing 
 
 Chapter for the Tourist and Invalid 
 
 : yield of Colorado Mines from 1859 to 1876— Yield by Counties 
 
 lor five years — Coal, Copper, etc., 
 
 Educational— School of Mines 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Elevations, Distances etc 
 
 on Returns of Octobers, 1876, 
 
 I'AGE 
 
 *-9 
 
 9-122 
 
 123-127 
 
 123-130 
 130 
 
 13 1 
 132 
 
 143 
 
 102 
 
 173 
 
 180 
 
 J 9 2 
 
 202 
 
 208-3IO 
 
 3l8 
 
 322 
 
 34-377 
 
 378 
 
 37S 
 
 39 1 
 393 
 406 
 
 414 
 
 44 f ' 
 
 461 
 467
 
 T 
 
 he Centennial State 
 
 
 chapter I. 
 
 GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. 
 
 The Mountains and Plains— Elevation of Snowy Range — 
 Rivers and Parks —Length of Rivers — Something of the 
 great Parks. 
 
 Colorado occupies the centre of the Rocky Mountain 
 region, together with the western portion of the great 
 plains, being located in the heart of that part of the 
 United States lying between the Mississippi River and 
 the Pacific Ocean. It extends from the thirty-seventh 
 to the forty-first parallel of North latitude and from 
 the one hundred-and-second to the one hundred-and- 
 ninth meridian of longitude West from Greenwich, 
 and is about midway between British America on the 
 North and Mexico on the South. It is nearly square, 
 or rather rectangular in shape, having a length of 
 about three hundred-and-seventy miles from East 
 to West, and of 280 miles from North to South. 
 It comprises an area of 104,500 square miles or more 
 than any other State excepting Texas and California. 
 It is larger than Great Britain, one-half the size of 
 France, and embraces nearly as much territory as 
 New York and New England, or the four Middle 
 States combined. To the North are Wyoming and
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 Nebraska, on the Mast, Nebraska and Kansas, with 
 New Mexico on the South, and Utah on the West. 
 
 The centre of Colorado is traversed by the Rocky- 
 Mountains, — Sierra Madre — in a North and South 
 direction. The spurs and offshoots of this grand 
 mountain system occupy the western portion, while 
 to the Mast are the great plains. 
 
 The plains occupy over one third of the State, 
 ascending gradually to the base of the Mountains, 
 where they attain an elevation of a little over a mile 
 above sea level. They are destitute of timber except- 
 ing along the river bottoms, but over all this district 
 grow tall nutritious grasses, affording splendid grazing 
 grounds for stock. Immense herds of Buffalo roam 
 over this treeless territory, usually keeping at a safe 
 distance from settlements. Wherever irrigation is 
 practicable, as along the valleys of the Arkansas, the 
 South Platte and their tributaries and chiefly near the 
 mountains, the soil has been found to possess remark- 
 able fertility and to be capable of yielding most boun- 
 tiful crops. 
 
 From the western limit of the plains rises what are 
 known as the " foot hills," which form the beginning 
 of the mountain system. They are often sharply 
 defined, with the barren rock jutting out boldly toward 
 the plains, and again smooth and rolling. Beyond them 
 are still higher elevations, hill upon hill and mountain 
 upon mountain, all more or less heavily timbered and 
 extending on and up until the dividing ridge of the 
 continent is reached some forty or fifty miles west of
 
 COLORADO. 7 
 
 the foot hills. This region is traversed by innumera- 
 ble ravines and canons, some of which are sharp and 
 deeply cut, worn by the waters and snow slides of 
 ages. The crest of this mountain system, familiarly 
 termed the "Snowy Range," attains an elevation of 
 from 13,000 to 15,000 feet above tide water, and sev- 
 eral thousand feet above "timber line," and every spe- 
 cies of vegetation. Its course although irregular, has 
 mainly a North and South direction, and many spurs 
 of equal elevation extend East and West. It forms 
 the backbone of the American continent, the region 
 of eternal snows, with crystal lakes and sparkling riv- 
 ulets, which uniting form streams from which great 
 rivers flow to either ocean. From the eastern slope 
 the Platte starts on its winding course of 1,500 miles 
 to the Missouri river. Further South, the Arkansas 
 dashes through mighty canons, and fertile plains, 
 on to the lower Mississippi, 1,800 miles from its 
 mountain source. In southwestern Colorado where 
 the range takes a southwesterly direction into the San 
 Juan region the waters of the Rio Grande Del Norte 
 take their rise and begin their long journey of 1,800 
 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. On the western slope 
 the Grand and Green unite to form the Grand Colo- 
 rado of the West, 2,000 miles in length, and emptying 
 into the Gulf of California. 
 
 To the West, the mountains slope off gradually, 
 but a series of lofty ranges and rugged hills divided 
 by well watered parks and valleys occupy this almost 
 unsettled portion of the State.
 
 8 COLORADO. 
 
 The parks of Colorado are a distinct and remark- 
 able feature of this mountain system, being prob- 
 ably the basins of former lakes at an early period 
 of. the world's history. They were evidently deprived 
 o( their water by volcanic agency, retaining their 
 original outlines. Their lowest parts are from 6,000 
 to g.ooo feet above sea level. These parks are firmly 
 walled about with mountains grand and high, and are 
 watered by the purest streams. They are covered by 
 rank luxuriant grasses with here and there groves and 
 patches of timber. They form some of the choicest 
 grazing lands in the world and in some instances are 
 admirably adapted to agriculture. The largest of 
 these in the order of their size are San Luis, South, 
 Middle and North parks. The last two more especi- 
 ally with several smaller adjacent ones, have always 
 been famed for their plentiful supplies of wild game of 
 almost every description, which have made them a 
 famous resort for sportsmen. The mountains are 
 covered with pine, fir, aspen, and other varieties, the 
 finest timber being found at elevations of from 8,500 
 to 10,500 feet. Above those points the trees grow 
 smaller and more sparse until they dwindle to shrubs 
 and bushes bent by the mountain storms. These dis- 
 appear altogether at elevations of from 11,200 to 
 1 1 ,600 feet above sea level, or at the point known as 
 "timber line." Above all this is a bleak and barren 
 waste of rock and "slide" varied with the occasional 
 presence of stunted grass and flowers. 
 
 The gold and silver regions are confined to these
 
 COLORADO. 9 
 
 mountain chains and down to points near the foot 
 hills. Most of the gold districts are located at eleva- 
 tions of from 7,000 to 9,000 feet above sea level, or 
 from 1,500 to 3,500 feet above the plains. The silver 
 veins have a general tendency to higher altitudes, and 
 many of them are in the main range proper, crossing 
 and recrossing it. The coal lands extend from the 
 foot hills out on to the plains for a considerable dis- 
 tance and are also found in the less explored mountain 
 regions of the West.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 EARUV ills 1 1 >RY < IF O >LORADO. 
 
 First While Visitors— Explorations of Lieut. Pike—Col. 
 Limit's, and other Expeditions— Indian Traders •— Dis- 
 covery of Oold— Early Settlements. 
 
 According to the best authorities the first white 
 men who ever penetrated to the wilds of Colorado, 
 were some eight hundred Spaniards and Mexicans 
 with Indian allies, under Caronado, who were sent 
 northward from Mexico by the Spanish Viceroy in the 
 year 1 540, to explore the country for gold. The ex- 
 pedition failed to discover the wealth of these moun- 
 tains that has since added so largely to the world's 
 production of gold and silver, and, after enduring 
 great hardships, returned from whence they came. 
 And so Colorado was left for ages in the undisputed 
 possession of the buffalo and the red man. 
 
 France once claimed this entire region, as far west 
 as the Pacific, as a part of the great province of Lou- 
 isiana. In the same indefinite manner, Spain asserted 
 ownership as far North as the northern portion of 
 what is now Colorado. Spanish settlements and mil- 
 itary posts were established on the Rio Grande and 
 the tributaries of the Arkansas, in the early part of 
 the present century. The larger part of Colorado 
 was ceded to the United States by Mexico, at the 
 close of the war of 1846-48.
 
 COLORADO. I I 
 
 After the purchase of Louisiana from France, in 
 1803, the United States government began to take 
 steps to explore and ascertain the wealth and resources 
 of the purchase — a region larger than all of the States 
 at that time, and greater than all Europe combined, 
 with the exception of Russia. An expedition of 
 twenty-three men was sent out, under command of 
 Lieut. Pike, of the regular army, which reached the 
 western Arkansas in October of 1806, and came with- 
 in sight of the Rocky Mountains, November 15th, of 
 that year, when the most prominent peak was named 
 after the commander. 
 
 After passing a winter of great severity among the 
 mountains, and discovering the head waters of most 
 of the leading rivers of Colorado, Pike and his com- 
 mand were taken prisoners by the Spaniards, who had 
 a military post somewhere in the San Luis Park or 
 the San Juan country. They were the first white vis- 
 itors in most of the territory over which they traveled. 
 
 In the year 18 19 a second expedition was sent to 
 these mountains, by the government. This was com- 
 manded by Colonel S. H. Long, of the United States 
 army. Early in the summer of 1820 the party struck 
 the South Platte, and followed westward until they 
 came in full view of the mountains. The most prom- 
 inent peak, and the first one seen was named Long's 
 Peak. A careful examination was then made of the 
 country. In 1832 the American Fur Company fitted 
 out an expedition which was commanded by Capt. 
 Bonneville, of the army.
 
 1 2 COLORADO. 
 
 The most complete and effective expeditions were 
 those sent out by the government under command of 
 Fremont, in 1842-44. His books and reports were 
 of great value. 
 
 At the close of the Mexican war, a vast tract of 
 country extending from the Rocky Mountains to the 
 Pacific, and embracing nearly 500,000 square miles, 
 was added to the national domain. From this have 
 been carved the golden state of California, Nevada, 
 with its inexhaustible silver deposits, several territo- 
 ries and the greater portion of Colorado, than which 
 no brighter star has been added to the flag of our 
 Union. Soon after gold was found in California, and 
 thousands made their way over the dreary waste of 
 plain and mountains just north of the region, which, 
 ten years later, caused a similar excitement, but which 
 was then passed by as worthless. 
 
 For a decade or two previous to the discovery of 
 gold, a few Indian and fur traders had established 
 themselves on the plains, near the mountains, where 
 they builL small forts for protection against the sav- 
 ages. Among them were Lieut. Lupton and Vigil St. 
 Vrain, in the North, and Colonels Bent and Boone, 
 on the Arkansas. A Mexican population had gradu- 
 ally worked its way up from the land of the Monte- 
 zumas, and was engaged in stock raising just north 
 of the New Mexican line. The mass of this popula- 
 tion is of mixed Spanish and Indian blood, speak- 
 ing the Spanish language only, or a corruption thereof. 
 From the trading posts and camps of the early
 
 COLORADO. 1 3 
 
 times, the hunters and trappers of these western wilds 
 were accustomed to gather (to pass the winter) at the 
 junction of the Fontaine qui Bouille with the Arkan- 
 sas, where the City of Pueblo now stands. Among 
 them were such celebrities as Kit Carson, Dick 
 Wooten and others. A trading post was finally es- 
 tablished there, and several small Mexican settlements 
 were started in neighboring sections. In 1854 the 
 Ute Indians wiped out the Pueblo post, and in one 
 night killed all who had assembled there. 
 
 The Fairplay Sentinel's history of Park county, has 
 the following: 
 
 "In 1848, a trapper by the name of Williams, claims 
 to have penetrated into the South Park and to have 
 discovered gold. During the winter and spring of 
 185 1, John Orlbert, now residing in the town of Wal- 
 senburg, in this State, employed himself in trapping 
 in the vicinity of Hamilton, and the ruins of log huts, 
 which were found on the Breckenridge Pass, are said 
 to have been built by his party. During the year 
 1856 a party of Texan rangers entered the South 
 Park via the Arkansas river. The troops skirted 
 along the Mosquito range and camped nearly oppo- 
 site the town site of Fairplay." 
 
 Early in 1858, W. Green Russell and nine compan- 
 ions left Georgia for the purpose of searching for gold 
 along the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains and 
 after a long and toilsome trip across the plains, arrived 
 at the head of Cherry Creek on the first day of June. 
 Parties were organized in Missouri and Kansas, after
 
 14 COLORADO. 
 
 they passed through, to follow them or reach the 
 reported gold fields first. One of these left Lawrence 
 in May and camped near where Pueblo now stands, 
 about the fourth day of July. 
 
 Russell's party prospected on nearly all of the 
 streams in northern Colorado as far north as the 
 Cache a la Poudre, and returned, considerably dis- 
 heartened, about the close of September, to the Platte. 
 They camped at Dry Creek, and took therefrom sev- 
 eral hundred dollars in gold dust. Some of the party 
 then returned to the states to carry the news of the 
 discovery. 
 
 In the months of October and November, the Law- 
 rence (Kansas) party, settled and built twenty or thirty 
 log cabins on what is now known as Younker's ranch 
 on the Platte river, some distance above Denver. 
 This they called Montana city. This was the year 
 succeeding the great financial crisis of 1857 when so 
 many time honored mercantile houses went down in 
 the storm, and men were ready for any venture that 
 promised to better their fortunes. The effect of so 
 many failures had been to throw thousands out of 
 employment, and these looked anxiously for some 
 means of improving their condition. The oppor- 
 tunity was offered by the discovery of Gold in Colo- 
 rado. The reports that Russell's men carried back, 
 spread like wild fire ; several parties were organized 
 in the Missouri river towns, and arrived in Colorado 
 before the close of the season. 
 
 In October 1858, a small settlement was formed on
 
 COLORADO. 1 5 
 
 or near the present site of Boulder. The first perma- 
 nent arrivals at Denver, were in September. In Novem- 
 ber, a large number of adventurers from all quarters, 
 settled on both sides of Cherry Creek, and from that 
 time this locality became the great point of arrival 
 and departure for the multitudes who followed in the 
 wake of the early pioneers. It will be seen that no 
 discovery of gold in any considerable quantities was 
 made during this entire season. The Cherry Creek 
 villages were first known as Auraria and St. Charles. 
 
 We quote the following from Hon. W. F. Stone's 
 very interesting historical sketch of Pueblo county. 
 
 "In 1848 the children of Wm. Bent while camped 
 on Crow Creek, on the way from Fort Bridger to 
 Bent's Fort are said to have gathered small nuggets 
 of gold. In 1858, a St. Louis party arrived on the 
 Arkansas. These pioneers were Josiah T. Smith, Otto 
 Wenneka, Frank Doris and George Lebaum, and they 
 were soon reinforced by others including a brother of 
 senator McDougal of California, a talented but eccen- 
 tric and dissipated genius, who had left California and 
 the world in disgust and spent several years with 
 Charley Autobees and other old trappers in the wild- 
 erness, self exiled and a wanderer. These parties 
 joined together and laid out a town, just East of Fon- 
 taine, where the present road runs, and named it 
 Fountain City. Two men named Cooper and Wing, 
 came about this time, from Missouri with a little stock 
 of goods, and with them were two men named Shaffer 
 and Browne who made a survey and plat of the town
 
 1 6 COLORADO. 
 
 site. Cooper and Wing built a Large cattle corral and 
 opened a store. Most of the adobe houses were 
 built from the old walls of the fort at Pueblo, por- 
 tions o\ which remained standing. Bob Middleton 
 brought with him his wife, who was the first white 
 woman of the settlement. About eighty lodges of 
 Arapahce Indians camped alongside of the settlers for 
 nearly three months during the winter, trading in 
 furs, dressed skins and other commodities. 
 
 The most lively event of the winter was that of a 
 raid which was made one day by the wily Utes, who 
 got away with a hundred head of Arapahce ponies. 
 An Arapahoe chief with a few braves, including Si 
 Smith, followed a few miles up the river to try to 
 recover the stock, but when the chief was ambushed 
 and shot near the Rock canon, Si and the other Arap- 
 ahoes got suddenly discouraged and retreated. Game 
 was plenty, and the settlers frequently indulged in it 
 during the winter, both for food and pastime. It con- 
 sisted chiefly of deer, antelope, jack rabbits, //w/i/c and 
 seven-ztp. 
 
 In January a man coming down from the diggings, 
 got caught in the snow on the divide, and perished 
 with cold and exhaustion, dying just as he reached 
 Fountain City afoot ; and thus the settlers were prov- 
 identially enabled to start a grave yard and thus plant 
 civilization in these western wilds. The next spring 
 — 1859 — an acequia was dug and water taken out of 
 the Fontaine for irrigation." 
 
 The territory of Kansas at the time of the gold
 
 COLORADO. 17 
 
 discoveries extended as far West as the crest of the 
 Rocky Mountain Range. Consequently the Pike's 
 Peak region was within the limits of that territory. 
 The enterprising spirit of the American people was 
 shown by the political move that took place here 
 in 1858. At this time, there were not over 200 
 men in this broad expanse of country, and most of 
 them had been here but a few weeks ; yet a county 
 had been defined called Arapahce and an election was 
 held on the 6th day of November, at which H. J. 
 Graham was elected Delegate to Congress and A. J. 
 Smith, Representative to the Kansas Legislature. Two 
 days afterwards the newly chosen Delegate was on his 
 way to Washington to induce Congress to organize a 
 territory, but failed in his object. Smith met with 
 better success, and the county of Arapahce was auth- 
 orized to be established by the Kansas Legislature. 
 This county was intended to include this entire region 
 as far West as the territory of Kansas extended.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE M VRCH TO THE LAND OF GOLD. 
 
 First Discovt ries in the Mountains Narrative of Events in 
 f 5g—The Gregory Diggings -Gregory's Discovery The 
 Jurist n Gulch Mines Stampede for the Mountains 
 Further Explorations. 
 
 During the winter of 1858-9, extravagant reports 
 had circulated among the states regarding the Pike's 
 Peak Gold Region — for this name had been applied 
 to the entire country, after the peak that first greeted 
 the eye of the immigrant, although no gold was found 
 within fifty miles of it — and the result was a grand 
 rush for the land of promise, as soon as spring open- 
 ed. The stampede across the plains at that time has 
 never been equalled before or since, except in the case 
 of California. Over the broad expanse from the Mis 
 souri westward for a distance of six hundred miles, 
 came an almost continuous stream of humanity. The 
 magic word "gold" had created a fever and enthusi- 
 asm that no distance nor hardship could repress, no 
 danger or difficulty dispel. And so the routes over 
 this ocean of dust and solitude, wherever water is ob- 
 tainable, were lined with caravans, and with pilgrims 
 weary and footsore, but ever hopeful of the land and 
 future before them. They came in wagons, with ox 
 teams, on horseback, and on foot. Some trudged 
 along with their packs upon their backs, and a few
 
 COLORADO. 19 
 
 with a wheel-barrow before them — any way to reach 
 the new El Dorado, and return in a few short months 
 rich and independent. That many were doomed to 
 bitter disappointment, will be told in the unwritten 
 history of this and all other new mining regions. 
 
 The roving adventurous spirits who formed the 
 vanguard in the settlement of Colorado, were largely 
 made up from the better and more enterprising classes 
 of the peoples from which they came, together with 
 a smattering of good, bad and indifferent characters — 
 all equally determined and desirous of bettering their 
 condition, which in some cases could not be worse. 
 It is estimated that over 50,000 men aided in this 
 eventful year to enlarge "That western trail of immi- 
 gration which bursts into States and Empires as it 
 moves." The broken-down merchant, the illiterate 
 hod carrier, the wide-awake speculator, the unsophis- 
 ticated plow boy, the gambler and the wanderer from 
 foreign lands, all combined to swell the human tide 
 that was setting in so strongly to this new land of 
 gold. A very large proportion were admirably adapt- 
 ed to settling and reclaiming a wilderness, and some 
 were there who had "pioneered it" in California and 
 elsewhere. But ninetcen-twentieths of them were as 
 ignorant of the business of gold mining as they well 
 could be, and had but a faint idea of the hardships 
 that must be endured in this wild rush for wealth. 
 Thousands on arriving at Denver, and finding no gold 
 and seeing no confirmation of the vague rumors that 
 had reached the "states," retraced their steps over th«
 
 20 COLORADO. 
 
 long weary way, cursing the country and their own 
 foll\- in visiting it. But their stories could not dis- 
 courage the oncoming, and almost continuous cara- 
 van they met, for nearly everyone was bound to see 
 the elephant, trusting that he would prove more 
 fortunate than his disconsolate predecessors. Two 
 courses were followed from the Missouri river to the 
 Mountains, known as the Kansas, or Smoky Mill, and 
 the Platte and South Platte, or Nebraska routes. 
 With the exception of a few military' posts on the lat- 
 ter, the plains constituted one vast wilderness, unin- 
 habited, save by wandering tribes of Indians. Terri- 
 ble hardships were often endured on these journeys. 
 Men fell by the wayside, and the bones of mules and 
 cattle, served as road guides to those who followed 
 the pioneers. The desperation and determination of 
 many may be duly appreciated when such a watch- 
 word as "Pike's Peak or bust," was adopted. 
 
 With the approach of warm weather in 1859, the 
 pioneers began to move out from their winter quarters 
 in quest of gold, which was found in paying quantities 
 on several streams. A small town was started on 
 Clear Creek, near the base of the mountains, and 
 called Arapahoe, after the tribe of Indians that occu- 
 pied this portion of the plains country. These dig- 
 gings paid for one season and then were abandoned 
 for sixteen years, but, strange to say, have been work- 
 ed profitably during the past year — probably enriched 
 by the waste from Gilpin county's stamp mills during 
 the past decade, diggings were also struck on 
 Ralston Creek.
 
 COLORADO. 21 
 
 In January gold was first discovered in the moun- 
 tains. One party from the Boulder settlement pene- 
 trated the mountains as far as Gold Run, and B. F. 
 Langley found gold on South Boulder creek, which he 
 called Deadwood diggings, and which had yielded 
 quite a quantity of gold before the coming of spring. 
 
 Near the close of April, George Jackson, an old 
 California miner, while hunting for game in the moun- 
 tains, came upon a tributary of South Clear Creek, 
 near the town site of Idaho Springs, which looked so 
 promising for gold that he stopped to prospect. 
 Taking his sheath-knife he dug enough dirt to fill a 
 small tin cup, that he carried with him, took it to the 
 stream and obtained therefrom about one dollar's 
 worth of gold. This was enough to convince him 
 that rich gold diggings existed there. He returned 
 to Denver with his gold, but met with considerable 
 difficulty in finding believers of his story. There 
 were some, however, who returned with or followed 
 him, and among them Wm. N. Byers, of the Denver 
 News, W. W. Whipple, and a company of men from 
 Chicago. From the latter the stream took the name 
 of Chicago Creek. Mr. Whipple went down to Denver 
 in two weeks with about four ounces of gold, worth 
 $75, and returned about June 1st with a supply of 
 provisions. This was the first gulch gold taken out 
 that amounted to anything, although some gold was 
 received from the Gregory Diggings about the same 
 time. This showed there was gold in the country in 
 paying quantities, and it revived the despondent arri- 
 vals on the plains, who had begun to think the
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 country was one grand fraud. Water was then brought 
 in by ditches along- Chicago Creek and work began 
 in earnest. I [undreds were now at work along South 
 Clear Creek, and at Spanish Bar and Payne's Bar. 
 
 The grand discovery, and that which fully confirm- 
 ed the reputed wealth of the country, was made in 
 May. In 1857 John II. Gregory left his home in the 
 mining c'istrict of Georgia, bound for the Frazer river 
 gold mines of British Columbia. He had proceeded 
 as far as Fort Laramie, in 1858, where by some means 
 he was detained until the following spring. When 
 about ready to resume his course to the Pacific he 
 was induced, by reports from the Pike's Peak country 
 to turn southward to try his luck in that direction. 
 He followed Clear Creek from the town of Golden 
 up into the mountains as far as where the city of 
 Black Hawk now stands. Indications of gold caused 
 him to strike up a gulch tributary to this fork of Clear 
 Creek. Says Hollister: "He was alone, and before 
 he could fairly test the value of the gulch he was 
 overtaken by a snow storm and nearly perished. 
 When the storm ceased he was obliged to return to 
 the valley or country at the base of the mountains, 
 for provisions. He then induced Wilkes Defrees to 
 return with him to the mountains and they reached 
 the spot after a tedious journey of three days. It was 
 the 6th day of May, 1859. ^ e climbed the hill where 
 he believed the wash, or gold dirt, would naturally 
 come from, scraped away the grass and leaves, and 
 filled his gold-pan with dirt and took it down to the 
 gulch. Upon panning (washing) it down, there was
 
 COLORADO. 23 
 
 about four dollars' worth of gold in it! He dropped 
 his pan and immediately summoned all the gods of 
 the universe to witness his astounding triumph. That 
 night he could not sleep. At three o'clock Defrees 
 fell asleep and left Gregory talking, and awoke at day- 
 break to find him still talking. That day they wash- 
 ed out forty dollars' worth of gold and then left for 
 Auraria to get their friends. The discovery was made 
 on what was afterwards known as claim No. 5, on the 
 Gregory lode." 
 
 The "rich find" of Gregory set the people of the 
 plains towns, then filled with new arrivals from the 
 East, wild with excitement and caused a stampede for 
 the Gregory Diggings, as they were afterwards called. 
 As the canon of Clear Creek was impassable for most 
 of the way, other routes were found necessary to reach 
 the desired locality. These lay over almost impass- 
 able mountains covered with timber, and down into 
 ravines, which necessitated the crossing of other 
 and still higher mountains. Teams were taken though 
 with the utmost difficulty over the rude highways of 
 those days and the construction of toll roads by indi- 
 viduals or companies, became a necessity, as there 
 were no local governments nor authorities of any kind 
 to act for the public benefit. 
 
 When Gregory returned, he employed five men 
 from the new arrivals and by means of a sluice took out 
 $972 in one week. He soon after sold his claims and 
 began to prospect for new lodes. Other rich strikes 
 were made almost daily, and large amounts of gold
 
 24 COLORADO. 
 
 were taken out in a short time. The Bates, Bobtail, 
 Mammoth, Gunnell, Burroughs, Illinois, and hund- 
 reds of other lodes were found, and thousands of 
 claims were taken up. 
 
 W. Green Russell and his brothers "Doc" and 
 Oliver Russell with a party of Georgians were among 
 the early arrivals at the Gregory Diggings. Some of 
 them had paid a visit to their former homes during 
 the winter and had returned with a large force of 
 men. These attracted thousands of others from the 
 states through which they passed, so that all parts 
 of the union were represented among these mountain 
 mines. 
 
 What was first called Gregory district, was soon 
 subdivided, and new mining camps were formed at 
 intervals, for miles around. Parties started from Den- 
 ver, Colorado, and Canon cities, for all parts of the 
 mountains, some of them even crossing the snowy 
 range and into the unknown country beyond. Rich 
 gulch diggings were found on the head waters of the 
 Platte, Arkansas, and Blue rivers, and on the creeks 
 to the north of the Gregory Diggings. Many lodes 
 were recorded, and lode mining began in earnest ; but 
 details of what followed in these mountain camps will 
 appear in succeeding pages.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 GREGORY DIGGINGS IN 1859. 
 
 The Miners 1 Laws— Lack of Water— Building the Consoli- 
 dated Ditch— A Chapter on Placer or Gulch and Lode 
 Mining— The Pioneers and the New Comers— Extract- 
 ing the Gold — First Arastras and Stamp Mills. 
 
 As the summer of 1859 advanced the wealth of 
 Colorado's gold veins and gulches became more and 
 more apparent. Over fifteen thousand men were con- 
 gregated in Gregory, Russell, and tributary gulches, 
 and many of them were accumulating wealth rapidly; 
 but everything valuable was soon preempted and large 
 numbers were forced to hunt their fortunes elsewhere. 
 
 The first Miners' Laws framed by Gregory and his 
 early followers allowed two hundred feet on a vein to 
 the discoverer and one hundred feet to any person 
 who secured a portion of the same lode. The horde 
 of gold seekers who followed, began to think they 
 would be unable to obtain their share of the prizes 
 under such an arrangement, and consequently a meet- 
 ing was called to alter the laws then in force. The 
 pioneers were few in numbers and perceived at once 
 that they were liable to loose the greater part of their 
 possessions at one fell swoop. They accordingly set 
 about concocting some scheme to avert such a disas- 
 ter. Fortune favored them by the timely arrival of 
 W. Green Russell and his party of one hundred and
 
 j6 COLORADO. 
 
 seventy Georgians. There is a sympathy among the 
 pioneers that they alone can appreciate, and Russell 
 readily brought his men to the support of the "early 
 comers." Even with this reinforcement they com- 
 prised hut a small fraction of the vast assemblage. 
 However, by tact and skillful engineering, they over- 
 came the heavy odds against them. They secured 
 control of the meeting by the election of Wilkes 
 1 Kliecs, chairman, and James D. Wood, secretary, by 
 creating dissentions among their opponents, and by 
 making and voting upon motions with great prompt- 
 ness and no little noise, until they had carried all of 
 their points. 
 
 The following are the laws adopted by the miners 
 of Gregory District : 
 
 " No miner shall hold more than one claim except 
 by purchase or discovery; and in any case of purchase, 
 the same shall be attested by at least two disinterested 
 witnesses, and shall be recorded by the Secretary, 
 who shall receive in compensation a fee of one dollar. 
 
 Each miner shall be entitled to hold one mountain 
 claim, one gulch claim, and one creek claim for the 
 purpose of washing: the first to be one hundred feet 
 long by fifty feet wide ; the second, one hundred feet 
 up and down the river or gulch, and extending from 
 bank to bank. 
 
 For the settlement of difficulties and the purpose 
 of preventing disputes, the miners of this district 
 hereby enact : That there shall be elected in this dis- 
 trict, by ballot, a President, a Recorder of Claims,
 
 COLORADO. 27 
 
 and a Sheriff for the term of one year from this date. 
 That the President, Secretary, and one assistant, to be 
 chosen by the people, be tellers of said election, and 
 that it take place immediately. 
 
 It shall be the duty of the Recorder to take charge 
 of and safely keep all records heretofore made by 
 the Secretary, and all records made necessary by law 
 shall hereafter be made by him. 
 
 All claims may be recorded if the owners see fit. 
 but no claim that is being worked shall be obliged to 
 be recorded. 
 
 When a miner has a lode claim which it is imposi- 
 ble to work to advantage this season, either from want 
 of water or machinery, he may hold the same until 
 the first of June next,by filing a statement of the rea- 
 sons with the Recorder. 
 
 All water claims not used shall be recorded within 
 ten days of claim date, or they shall be considered 
 forfeited. 
 
 All bills of sale or conveyances of claims shall be 
 witnessed by at least two disinterested witnesses and 
 recorded. 
 
 The books of the Recorder shall be always open 
 to the inspection of the public, and shall never be 
 taken from the Recorder's hands ; but any person 
 shall be entitled to copy any record at any reasonable 
 time. 
 
 All laws relating to trials of disputed claims are 
 hereby repealed. 
 
 When any person is aggrieved with regard to a 
 claim, he shall file with any commissioned Justice of
 
 28 COLORADO. 
 
 the Peace, or in his absence, with the President of the 
 Miners' Association, a statement of his grounds of 
 complaint, which shall also have the names of the 
 parties complained of, and a prayer that they be sum- 
 moned to appear and answer. Thereupon the Justice 
 (or President,) shall issue a summons to the adverse 
 party to appear and answer within three days. If he 
 fail to do so, the complaint shall be taken as true and 
 execution issue. If he appear and answer, the Justice 
 (or President,) shall summons a venire of nine persons 
 from which each party shall strike off one until there 
 remain but three, who shall proceed to hear the evi- 
 dence of the parties with or without council, and try 
 their case. Any juror may be challenged ,for cause 
 shown either by his own evidence or that of others. 
 Should the party loosing feel aggrieved by the decis- 
 ion, he may appeal to a jury of twelve men, by pay- 
 ing cost already accrued, which jury shall be selected 
 by the Justice (or President,) and their decision shall 
 be final. 
 
 The Sheriff shall have power to serve notices and 
 executions, and he shall have power to summon 
 parties, put parties in possession of property decided 
 to be theirs by law, summon juries and do such ser- 
 vice as a Sheriff in any other place may do, and shall 
 be entitled to receive double the legal fees provided 
 by the Statutes of Kansas. 
 
 The fee of the Recorder shall be one dollar for 
 each claim recorded. 
 
 The Justice (or President,) shall be entitled to five
 
 COLORADO. 29 
 
 dollars for presiding at each trial and making out the 
 papers. 
 
 The jury shall be entitled to one dollar each, per 
 day. 
 
 The defeated party in each suit shall be liable for 
 all costs of the suit, and the Justice (or President,) 
 shall issue execution for the same, which shall be col- 
 lected from any property the party so liable may have, 
 excepting tools, bedding, clothing, and necessary pro- 
 visions for three months. 
 
 In any case either party may call upon the other 
 to give security for costs ; the suit shall be dismissed 
 if plaintiff, or defeated if defendant shall fail to give 
 such security. 
 
 Any person may take up by recording, forty feet 
 front and one hundred deep, for a building lot, but 
 shall not secure the same against being used for min- 
 ing if found rich. Should any person work out the 
 ground on which a house stands, he shall secure the 
 house against damages. 
 
 Any person or company intending to erect a quartz 
 mill, may select or locate two hundred and fifty feet 
 square, which shall be recorded. He may also claim 
 a right to cut a race from any river to bring water 
 to the same and shall hold the water, not interfering 
 with any vested rights. 
 
 The pre-emption laws established by the citizens 
 of this county shall be recognized in the mines but 
 shall not conflict with miners' rights. 
 
 Gulch claims shall be one hundred feet up and down
 
 3Q COLORADO. 
 
 and fifty wide, following the meandering of the stream, 
 and shall be worked within ten days if water can be 
 obtained; if water is wanting, they may be recorded 
 and held until water can be obtained. Any time 
 after the 1st of September, any miner may record his 
 gulch claim and hold it till the first of June. 
 
 When any miner holds both a gulch and lode 
 claim, if one be worked the other may be held without 
 working by recording the same. 
 
 When water companies are engaged in bringing 
 water into any portion of the mines, they shall have 
 the right of way secured to them and may pass over 
 any claim, road, or ditch ; but shall so guard them- 
 selves in passing as not to injure the party over whose 
 ground they pass. 
 
 \\ hen any company is formed for the purpose of 
 discovery [by tunneling], the parties engaged may 
 stake off, record, and place notices on ground two 
 hundred and fifty feet each way from the tunnel and 
 running as the tunnel is intended to run. After that, 
 all new lodes discovered by the company in tunneling 
 belong to the company to that extent; claims already 
 taken are to be respected, but claims cannot be taken 
 within the limits staked off, if work be progressing on 
 the tunnel. If work on the tunnel be stopped for one 
 week at any one time, the original claim shall be for- 
 feited and shall be open to claimants." 
 
 Time has since proved that the claims were none 
 too large for surface work, and entirely too small for 
 deep mining.
 
 COLORADO. 31 
 
 W. Green Russell and his party crossed over to 
 the southern portion of the county and located in the 
 gulch which still bears the name of the leader. 
 Hundreds of Georgians and Missourians followed. 
 Russell being perfectly satisfied with the yield of these 
 gulch or placer diggings, remained in that locality 
 for three or four years. But he became convinced in 
 May, 1859, tnat there was not sufficient water to mine 
 with profit for more than one or two months in the 
 spring of the year. The miners generally had become 
 alarmed at the scarcity of water, knowing that gulch 
 diggings were comparatively worthless without it. 
 Russell, and a few others, began, therefore, to explore 
 the country with a view to find a stream of water that 
 could be brought to these mines by means of a ditch 
 he having previously had some experience in ditch- 
 es and in placer mining in California. The head of 
 Fall river was found a practicable point from which 
 to obtain the desired water supply by means of a 
 twelve-mile ditch and a flume, constructed around 
 the mountain sides. A claim for the water-power and 
 right of way was accordingly made. But another 
 party, becoming aware of the necessity of a water 
 supply, had surveyed a ditch route and laid claim to 
 the same water right. Two companies were formed 
 at about the same time, both claiming right of pos- 
 session by priority of location, a title always recog- 
 nized by miners, and so there was a dead lock be- 
 tween them. Russell's company was known as the 
 Fall River Company, and the other, of which R. W*
 
 32 COLORADO. 
 
 Steele, afterwards provisional governor, was president, 
 was called the Rocky Mountain Company. Nothing 
 was done towards obtaining water until July, when 
 both organizations were united under the name of the 
 Consolidated Ditch Company, with W. Green Russell 
 as President, A. II. Owens, Secretary, and J. M. 
 Wood, Superintendent. The work of construction 
 was then begun — an undertaking of no little moment 
 at that day, when the District was almost destitute of 
 capital, and the whole country regarded as a humbug. 
 Provisions and material were very dear — the 'lumber 
 supply being very limited and that held at high fig- 
 ures. Powder, which was necessary in blasting, was 
 $18 per keg, and steel $i per pound. There was 
 much difficulty in getting lumber along the line of 
 the ditch. Lumber was whip- sawed and carried by 
 hand to the places demanding it. But owing to the 
 vast influx of people, labor was cheap and this helped 
 the enterprise amazingly. The ditch was completed 
 July 1 6, i860, and soon after a thousand men were 
 gulch-mining in Russell and its immediate vicinity. 
 A lively and flourishing town was located on the di- 
 vide between that locality and Spring gulch, and was 
 called Missouri City. The provisional governor and 
 secretary, Messrs. Steele and Bliss, wanted the Cen- 
 tral express and post office moved up there, saying it 
 was the only town in the country that would amount 
 to anything. At that time populous villages were 
 located at Central, Mountain City and Black Hawk, 
 and at other localities.
 
 COLORADO. 33 
 
 The ditch company's right to this water was ac- 
 quired by preemption under the miners' laws of Greg- 
 ory District, when that included what is now Gilpin 
 and Clear Creek counties, and the record bears date 
 June 15th, 1859. Congress afterwards confirmed 
 these laws. Previous to such confirmation, however, 
 soon after the regular organization of the Territory, 
 late in 1861, the first legislature of Colorado recog- 
 nized the rights of said company and granted them a 
 charter for ten years. 
 
 The surface dirt and "slide" from the veins were at 
 first washed for gold by means of small iron hand 
 pans and by rockers, and then by sluices. Arastras — 
 machines very much like the Freiberg and other large 
 pans now used in stamp mills — were useful in grind- 
 ing up the dirt and surface quartz, and answered very 
 well until the contents of the veins became so hard as 
 to require stamps. 
 
 The first water power arastra was brought into 
 Gregory Diggings July 5th, [859, by J. D. Peregrine, 
 and set up at or near where the Norton mill now 
 stands, in Black Hawk. An arastra, run by ox-power, 
 had arrived a week earlier. Peregrine's arastra was a 
 very large one, being seven and one half feet in diam- 
 eter, with a bottom of four pieces of wood twenty inches 
 thick, drags weighing one ton each, and the whole 
 run by a water wheel sixteen feet in diameter. Its cost 
 was $2,000, one half of which was paid for cutting the 
 stone. It began work August 5th, and could handle, 
 in twenty-four hours, one and one half cords of Bates 
 
 % 
 
 »
 
 34 COLORADO. 
 
 quartz, one and one fourth cords of Gregory and three 
 fourths of a cord from either the Bobtail or Fiske. 
 Other arastras followed. Previous to this time many 
 miners had left these diggings for the head waters of 
 the Platte, Arkansas and Blue, partly owing to the 
 fact that the vein matter became too hard for success- 
 ful sluicing. It will be seen that for a time an arastra 
 of this size did the work of a ten or twelve stamp mill of 
 to-day. Henderson, in treating one lot of ore from 
 the Gregory, lost twenty-five pounds of quicksilver. 
 After that he had his ore roasted in heaps, something 
 after the method of roasting at smelting works, and 
 was then able to save $200 in gold per cord of rock. 
 Peregrine's arastra for a time crushed nearly all the 
 "headings" and "tailings" from the Gregory lode. 
 
 The first stamp mill that operated in the mountains 
 contained three stamps and was brought in by J. 
 Prosser, October 15th, 1859. It was set up on claim 
 No. 1, of the Gregory lode, and was run on the head- 
 ings from the sluices. Before the close of the same 
 month Coleman & Lefevre set up a six stamp mill in 
 Eureka gulch. One Clark brought in the third mill. 
 It contained nine stamps, was located in the gulch be- 
 tween Main and Spring streets, where the Welch 
 block now stands, and began work in December 1859. 
 In i860 stamp mills began to arrive by the score. At 
 first they were rude, imperfect affairs and destitute of 
 copper-plated tables — hence they were not very ef- 
 fective in saving gold in Colorado. After the surface 
 quartz was exhausted, and the miners had sunk down
 
 COLORADO. 35 
 
 in the veins to the iron pyrites, they saved but little 
 gold, and the mill men in 1 861-2 were often unable 
 to obtain the gold even on copper-plated tables. The 
 ores of one mining country are usually different from 
 those of another, and time is required to adapt a pro- 
 cess to ores so as to ensure the highest measure of 
 success. This was particularly the case in Colorado. 
 Of the thousands and tens of thousands who came 
 here and sooner or later left for their homes in the 
 states, or for the next gold or silver region that was 
 heralded abroad, not one in fifty were miners or had 
 the slightest idea about mining or milling. It was 
 like a plow boy attempting to manufacture an intricate 
 piece of machinery without having served a day as a 
 mechanic. This was more especially the case in iode 
 mining, which requies far more experience than the 
 working of gulch or placer mines — the latter being 
 a much simpler avocation. 
 
 A series of long boxes over-lapping one another 
 one or two feet in heighth and breadth, with riffles to 
 catch che gold on the bottom, together with hose or 
 hydraulics for washing down the gravel banks, consti- 
 tute the most of the requisite machinery for gulch or 
 placer mining. An ample supply of water is neces- 
 sary of which a heavy stream is kept running through 
 the sluice boxes at the same time that the dirt or 
 gravel is shoveled into them. The gold being heav- 
 ier than the stones or dirt, sinks to the bottom of the 
 boxes, where a supply of quicksilver has been previ- 
 ously distributed to retain it. At intervals the water
 
 36 COLORADO. 
 
 is turned off, and the gold is taken out. This is what 
 is called a "clean up." In surface or creek diggings 
 of this character the gold is free and is easily separa- 
 ted from the dirt. Bar, or creek diggings, are opera- 
 ted in a similar manner, except that the course of the 
 stream is turned, the boulders or heavier stones re- 
 moved, and shafts run down until the "bed rock" or 
 permanent granite of the country, is reached. There 
 drifts are run from six to eight feet wide and support- 
 ed by solid timbers to keep the gravelly bed of the 
 stream, often from fifteen to fifty feet thick, from cav- 
 ing in. The immense quantity of water that continu- 
 ally leaks down from above, is taken out by means of 
 powerful pumps of peculiar character. In past ages 
 the gold has found its way by continued wash- 
 ings from lodes on the mountains or hill sides, into 
 the streams, where it has gradually worked itself down 
 through the loose gravel on to the hard bed rock — 
 and that is where the richest pay is found. In fact it 
 is usually necessary to "go down to bed rock" in 
 order to obtain large quantities of gold. The gold is 
 usually as fine as powder, but is often found in much 
 coarser particles and in nuggets. The nuggets are 
 from the size of a pea to that of a hen's egg, although 
 those of the latter description are rarely obtained. 
 
 Lode mining is very differently conducted. Al- 
 though free gold is often seen in the quartz, the 
 precious metal is usually disseminated through it so 
 as to be invisible to the naked eye. After the vein 
 matter, near the surface, has been exhausted, the 1
 
 COLORADO. 37 
 
 quartz, or rock, is so hard as to require the aid of 
 ponderous stamps driven by water or machine power, 
 to crush it. Even then the crushing does not al- 
 ways pulverize the ore sufficiently to save much of 
 the gold, even with the aid of quicksilver. Other ap- 
 pliances are often needed, as will be seen in the chap- 
 ter on stamp mills. Lode mining itself is also quite 
 different from bar or placer mining. With the former 
 the work is carried down into the bowels of the earth 
 following the course of the vein between the solid 
 granite-and country rock. Such entrances into the 
 domains of mother earth can only be made by an ex- 
 tensive use of powder and a system of hand or ma- 
 chine drilling. Then solid timbering in shafts, levels 
 and excavations are necessary to keep the walls from 
 falling in or scaling off on to the miners and works 
 below. As depth is gained, the windlass, which 
 answers every purpose for the first fifty or seventy-five 
 feet, gives way to the whim (or to horse power). This 
 cannot be used to any advantage beyond a depth of 
 much over two hundred feet. Then the steam engine 
 is necessary for raising the ore, as well as for the 
 water that prevails in nearly all mines. Powerful 
 hoisting works and huge pumps are finally required 
 for the increased development of the mine and for 
 drainage. Finally iron tracks are laid in the levels so 
 that the ore may be conveyed in cars from distant 
 parts of the mine to the point of hoisting; and there 
 are a number of requisites in lode mining and in the 
 treatment of the ore after it has left the mine, both in
 
 30 COLORADO. 
 
 stamp mills and smelting works, that have not been 
 mentioned above, showing difficult and intricate pro- 
 cesses before the "pay" is obtained, while the gulch 
 miner has his gold every night without awaiting the 
 
 tedious process of milling or smelting. 
 
 Hut the Colorado placers and bars were never as 
 numerous and extensive as they were in California 
 and several of the northwestern territories, and the 
 main portion of them were worked out, or nearly so, 
 during the earlier years of mining in this region. 
 Lode mining is Colorado's chief support and she pos- 
 sesses more distinct gold and silver bearing veins with 
 a higher average value per ton of contents, than the 
 entire west or the whole country beside. Time and 
 development, and a moderate expenditure of capital, 
 is ad that is required to force them to produce more 
 largely than all other states and territories outside of 
 Nevada. One great advantage Colorado has over 
 other regions is in her multitude of lodes, thus offer- 
 ing better opportunities to the many than any other 
 section.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 HISTORICAL REVIEW OF EARLY SETTLEMENT. 
 
 Denver and Auraria — The rival Cities of Cherry Creek — 
 Early History of Park County—Its Golden Placers 
 and Quiches — Hamilton, Tarryall, Fairplay — Lively 
 and Prosperous Times. 
 
 While the mountains were receiving constant ac- 
 cessions to their population from the on-moving tide 
 that made Denver its halting place, the Cherry Creek 
 settlement was fast becoming a city of considerable 
 importance. The abortive attempt at establishing a 
 town there in September, 1858, under the name of 
 St. Charles, had been followed by more permanent 
 locations in the months of October and November. 
 Some Georgians and Kansans from the Montana set- 
 tlement then founded the town of Auraria on the 
 west side of Cherry Creek. From Goldrick's history 
 of Denver we obtain much interesting information, 
 from which we quote at intervals. 
 
 "R. C. Hutchins, John Smith and A. H. Barker 
 built log cabins on the "West side," which they 
 called Indian Row. Soon after Blake and Williams, 
 and Kinna and Nye, brought in stocks of goods, and 
 on Christmas day Dick Wooton arrived with a quan- 
 tity of flour, groceries, and dry goods, from New 
 Mexico. A town survey was made of Auraria on 
 November 8th, and as its prospects daily grew more
 
 40 COLORADO. 
 
 brilliant, those of Montana and St. Charles grew more 
 discouraging. On the 17th 'day of November, a party 
 of Kansas men headed by Gen. Wm. Larimer and 
 Richard E. Whitsitt, arrived on the then deserted site 
 of St. Charles, (East Denver) and took possession 
 thereof. A town company was organized and the 
 place was called Denver, after the then acting Gov- 
 ernor of Kansas. The officers of the company were 
 as follows : 
 
 President, E. P. Stout ; Treasurer, Wm. Larimer Jr. ; 
 Secretary, H. P. H. Smith; Recorder, P. F. Bassett; 
 with Messrs Stout, Larimer, Bassett, R. E. Whitsett, 
 W. McGaa, C. A. Lawrence, Hickory Rogers and 
 Wm. Clancy, as directors. Each of the forty-one 
 shareholders were obliged to erect a buiding within 
 the next ninety days, and Gen. Larimer, is said to 
 have put up the first log cabin in the place. 
 
 The first officers of the Auraria town company, 
 were W. A. McFadden, President; and Dr. L. J. 
 Russell, Secretary. Those of the Highlad town com- 
 pany, were Henry Allen, President, and Wm. M. 
 Slaughter, Secretary. 
 
 Auraria was the leading town until 1861, although 
 the Pike's Peak Express Company, had made their 
 headquarters in Denver, in 1859, having received 1,460 
 town lots for so doing. Denver, Auraria, and High- 
 land, were consolidated April 3d, i860. 
 
 " At the beginning of 1859 on ly three white women 
 had arrived in this then cheerless locality. Every- 
 thing was uncertain and unstable. With winter ahead
 
 COLORADO. 41 
 
 of them, and with plenty of nothing but poverty and 
 privation, these pioneer people had to make hope the 
 main anchor of their souls. Lumber sold for one hun- 
 dred dollars a thousand in 1859, flour at from twenty 
 to forty dollars a hundred pounds, while sugar, coffee 
 and tobacco were at times almost worth their weight 
 in gold dust. 
 
 The first child was born here on the third of March, 
 1859. It was a half-breed son of Wm. McGaa, alias 
 jack Jones, the mountaineer, and they christened the 
 boy " Denver." The first white child, a girl, born 
 here, was to Henry Hubbell, in the fall of 1859, on 
 the corner of 10th and Larimer streets, formerly the 
 Eldorado Hotel. The mother and child were donated 
 several corner lots for their "enterprise," in helping to 
 popula f e Auraria, but she considered them worthless 
 and forsook Colorado for Oregon in 1863. The first 
 hanging scrape was that of young Stofel for shooting 
 his brother-in-law, Biencroff. He was strung on a 
 cottonwood, corner of nth and Holladay streets, on 
 April 8th, 1859. The first election of county officers 
 for Arapahoe county, Territory of Kansas, took place 
 March 29th, 1859. There were five or six hundred 
 votes polled in the county at large, two hundred 
 and thirty-one of which were in Auraria, and one 
 hundred and forty-four in Denver. At this time 
 Charlie M. Steinberger was elected "coroner," brother 
 of the Steinberger who recently became "King of the 
 Samoan Islands." The first preaching was done in 
 December. 1858, by the Rev. G. W. Fisher, a Metho- 
 dist, and Rev. L. Hamilton, a Presbyterian, preached
 
 42 COLORADO. 
 
 his first sermon in Denver in the following June. Of 
 the thousands who arrived at Cherry Creek in April 
 .mil May, the majority became disgusted because they 
 did not find chunks of gold lying around loose for 
 them in the streets of Denver, and stampeded back- 
 home cursing the country and all in it. The Fourth 
 of July 1859, was duly celebrated in the grove near 
 the mi uth of Cherry Creek. The Declaration of 
 Independence was read by Dr. Fox, James R. Shaffer 
 orated, and music was furnished by a Council Bluffs 
 band. 
 
 At the beginning of i860, there were about one 
 thousand people in the two towns bordering Cherry 
 Creek. John C. Moore was the first Mayor of Den- 
 ver, and was elected December 19th, 1859. 
 
 With the advance guard of the immigration of 1859 
 came the printing press. The Rocky Mountain Neivs 
 — then a weekly — was the first newspaper issued 
 under the shadow of the Sierras and Wm. N. Byers 
 and Thomas Gibson were its founders. The first 
 number appeared April 23d 1859. The next news- 
 paper venture in Colorado and the first in the moun- 
 tains was the Rocky Mountain Gold Reporter and 
 Mountain City Ha aid, which made its appearance at 
 the Gregory Diggings August 6th 1859, published by 
 Thomas Gibson. This paper did not survive the early 
 snows of autumn, but appeared again in the form of 
 the Denver Commonwealth, early in i860, and in 1864 
 was united with the News. The Daily Rocky Moun- 
 tain Herald and the Momitaineer, made their first 
 appearance in Denver in i860.
 
 COLORADO. 43 
 
 Richard Allen of the Fairplay Sentinel, has given 
 such an excellent history of the early times and set- 
 tlement of Park county that the writer gives the fol- 
 lowing lengthy extract therefrom: 
 
 In the year 1859, the entire country from North to 
 South and from East to West, was electrified with 
 the reported discovery of rich gold fields, at, or in the 
 near vicenage of Pike's Peak. 
 
 The gold hunters of '59 were composed of the very 
 best material the States could furnish. With scarcely 
 an exception, they were men of education, enterprise 
 and energy ; they belonged to a class of men distinct 
 of themselves, and whose fate, was to pioneer, and 
 develop the mineral and agricultural resources of the 
 Centennial State ; to create the Plains Empire, was 
 their mission; that they have accomplished the work 
 assigned them our present prosperity attests. 
 
 About the first of July, 1859, twenty restless and 
 adventurous spirits, determined to prospect the country 
 of the South Park. At the instance of W. T. Holman 
 a party organized and proceeded southward through 
 Virginia Canon to the valley of Clear Creek. Here 
 the party halted and prospected the hills southwest 
 of Chicago creek and Spanish bar, four or five days. 
 The party then became disorganized and about eight 
 of the twenty determined to follow out the original 
 programme. Their route was in a southerly direction 
 and followed Chicago creek to its source, the scene 
 of Bierstadt's picture, "A storm in the Rocky Moun- 
 tains." Crossing the rugged ridges, the party ascen- 
 ded Mt. Rosalia, and for the first time beheld the South
 
 44 COLORADO. 
 
 Park, radient and beautiful in its summer garb. Des- 
 cending into the valley they pursued a southerly 
 course, and the second days journey they encamped 
 on Tarryall creek, hall a mile below Hamilton. Curtis, 
 Chambers, and Holman at once set to prospecting, 
 and their labors were rewarded by a very good "color." 
 The next mining camp was struck two miles above 
 the site of the first discovery, and the richest gold 
 placers in the State were opened up to the civilized 
 world. The diggings were named Tarryall. The 
 discovery was made on the 19th day of July, 1859, 
 and the original preemptors at once formed a district 
 code of mining laws, which in the absence of civil 
 law should govern the people. This code defined 
 the length and breadth of claims, and gave to the 
 owners a title in fee simple, until such time as they 
 could secure a patent from the United States Govern- 
 ment. In cases of dispute or in cases of trespass and 
 jumping of their property, the matter was referred to 
 a miners meeting. A judge was elected and each 
 disputant had the right to select counsel from the 
 members present. The verdict was reached by a vote 
 of the meeting. Occasionally, disputes of all kinds 
 were settled by arbitration, from which there was 
 no appeal. 
 
 The original code gave the miners one hundred 
 and fifty feet in length, from bank to bank along the 
 gulch. Two weeks after the discovery, it has been 
 estimated that there were 3,000 people on the ground. 
 The present site of Hamilton very much resembled
 
 COLORADO. 45 
 
 a large military encampment and for weeks the scene 
 presented was one of joy and mirth. It has been 
 compared to the general muster day " way daoun 
 east." Everybody was happy. Brass bands of music 
 could be heard at all hours of the day or night, 
 and the knights of the green cloth plied their vocation 
 with a nonchalance, that to the uneducated eye, 
 seemed as if the gamblers had reached a spot where 
 they were free from laws and free from restraints of 
 society. Gold dust was currency and the claims that 
 produced the largest portion of it were the indirect 
 means of fostering and giving birth to communistic 
 ideas. 
 
 The late comers determined that one hundred and 
 fifty foot claims, were too large, and that the owners 
 should be compelled to give up fifty feet, that the 
 general community might be benefitted thereby. 
 
 The mine owners along the stream, and particularly 
 those discovering the diggings proper, at the junction 
 of the streams, determined that the mining laws as 
 adopted should remain in force. When the commun- 
 ists heard the expression of the meeting, they mut- 
 tered "Grab-all." Hence the name of Graball, as 
 applied to the Tarryall diggings, and the name of 
 Fairplay as applied to the Platte diggings. The latter 
 or Fairplay diggings were discovered August 19th. 
 
 The mining settlements extended along the stream 
 a distance of two miles. During the winter of '59 
 and '60, the city of Hamilton was staked off, and the 
 following summer the population numbered 500 souls:
 
 46 COLORADO. 
 
 Following this, on the south bank of the stream, 
 r.invall city was laid out. Tarryall city and Hamil- 
 ton were rivals of each other and they in turn were 
 rivals of Jefferson city near Georgia Pass, six miles 
 north. All were competing for the immense trade of 
 the region, at that time, and each had settled down 
 into the belief that it was to be the city of the 
 Territory. To-day, ruins alone remain to mark the 
 sites of once popular towns, and villages, and there's 
 the same interest attached to these as to those of 
 a pre-historic date. The evidences of civilized life 
 are readily recognized in the almost imperishable can- 
 teen, tin cup, and the once popular, but now alas! dis- 
 carded " Billy Barlow" jack knife. In the coming dec- 
 ades or centuries, the antiquarian will find much that 
 will interest them, in exploring the grass grown 
 mounds of the dead cities of the Park.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ANNALS OF THE FIFTY-NINERS. 
 
 District Organizations — Rich Strikes in the Mountain, 
 Quiches — Settlement of Boulder— The Pioneers— Gold 
 Hill, Left Hand, Ward, Etc. — Founding of Pueblo- 
 Park County— Buckskin Joe and its History. 
 
 Large quantities of gold were obtained from the 
 surface dirt and quartz of the various lodes of Gilpin 
 as well as from the gulches. Rude tramways were 
 constructed down the steep hill sides to the ravines 
 over which the rich "pay dirt" was sent down in sacks 
 attached to beeves' hides. Details of the workings 
 and yields of these veins in earlier, as well as later 
 years, will be found in chapters relating to the "mines 
 of Gilpin county," in the latter portion of this book. 
 
 In July a mass meeting was held in Gregory Dig- 
 gings, and Richard Sopris was elected President of 
 the District, C. A. Roberts, Recorder of Claims, and 
 Charles Peck, Sheriff, to serve one year. 
 
 Several mining districts were afterwards set off from 
 Gregory, such as Eureka, Central City and Lake, 
 while many new ones were formed in the surrounding 
 country. Each was governed by a president, judge, 
 constable, and secretary, who was exofficio recorder. 
 The latter were elected for each of the twenty-six dis- 
 tricts, of which the writer is able to give the names 
 of only the more important ones, viz : Gregory — ■
 
 48 COLORADO. 
 
 J. W. Roberts; Central City — Bela S. Bucll; Enter- 
 prise — Guy M. Hulett and II. P. Cowenhoven; Hay 
 
 State— Mr. Haynes; lureka — Dr. Casto, and 
 
 then 1). Tom Smith ; Nevada —Sam. Link, afterwards 
 R. D. Darlington and J. W. Remine ; Illinois Central 
 — Ed. James and then Charles H. Utter; Russell — 
 Chas. S. Fassett; Quartz Valley — S. G. Trine; Inde- 
 pendent — Mr. Hurlbut. 
 
 The records were often kept in a very careless man- 
 ner, but answered the purpose for the time being. 
 Nearly all of these districts finally adopted the code 
 of miners' laws prevailing in Gregory. 
 
 In September, 1859, there was a very heavy fall of 
 snow, and a large portion of the miners, believing 
 winter had set in, left the mountains in hot haste. 
 Most of them returned when they learned that the 
 snow had disappeared in a single day. From that time 
 until New Year's day, the ground was free from snow 
 and the weather warm and pleasant. Sam. Link, Re- 
 corder of Nevada District, had been informed that 
 Nevada gulch filled with snow during the winter as 
 high as the summits of Quartz and Gunnell hills, and 
 when the September storm came he left the district 
 and did not stop until he reached Illinois. Some dif- 
 ficulty was experienced on account of his taking the 
 book of records with him, but it was finally returned 
 and R. D. Darlington was chosen as his successor. 
 
 Early in June, 1859, Horace Greeley, A. D. Rich- 
 ardson, and Mr. Villard, three prominent journalists, 
 while crossing the continent, stopped at Denver and
 
 COLORADO. 49 
 
 paid a visit to Gregory Diggings. A hearty welcome 
 was everywhere accorded them. The story of Horace 
 panning out "a color" is still told by old residents. 
 
 The Boulder News' historical sketch, furnishes the 
 following facts in regard to the early history of 
 Boulder county : 
 
 " The first white permanent residents of the county 
 came in search of gold, arriving the 17th day of Oct- 
 ober, 1 858, 'a little pilgrim band, a division of the ad- 
 vance guard of gold seekers, forerunners of the rush 
 of the following year, 1859. Of these pioneers were 
 Captain Thomas Aikins, and two sons, A. A. Brook- 
 field, Captain Yount, Dickson and Moore, Dan. Gor- 
 don, and brothers, John Hall, Theodore Squires, W. 
 W. Jones, Thad. Hamilton, L. Davenport, John Roth- 
 rock, Albert Atcheson, Wheelock Brothers, Thomas 
 Lorton, H. Childs, J. Machesney, John Brown, Charley 
 Clouser, Silas D. Burns, and a few others whose names 
 are not recalled. Capt. Aikins, and sons are now res- 
 idents of the county, the Captain living on the land 
 chosen for its living springs, near Valmont. Mr. 
 Brookfield returned to Nebraska City early in '59, and 
 the same season came back, bringing Mrs. Brookfield 
 and they have since continued among the best-known 
 residents of the county. Most of the party were from 
 Nebraska City, 
 
 The "pilgrims" followed the South Platte river 
 towards the mountains to the junction of the St. Vrain, 
 where they were so pleased and impressed with the 
 view of the Boulder foot-hills, that they were stayed 
 4
 
 50 COLORADO. 
 
 by a common impulse, and decided to strike directly 
 for the mountains. Capt. Aikins, in giving the graph- 
 ic account, says: 'I mounted the walls of old Fort 
 St. Vrain, and with my field glass could see that the 
 mountains looked right for gold; could see bands of 
 Indian ponies and bands of deer and antelope grazing 
 close up to the high foot-hills; could see that the val- 
 ley of the south fork of the St. Vrain — called the 
 Boulder, because of its boulders — was the lovliest of 
 all the valleys in the scope of vision — a landscape 
 exceedingly beautiful. Those mountains are so high 
 and so steep, the boys said, that it will not be safe to 
 venture up till spring, on account of snow slides. 
 But the following morning was so fair, and the love of 
 adventure and the hope of gold so inviting, that we 
 forded the Platte and traveled up, with the bold moun- 
 tains all before us, till we pitched our tents under the 
 red rock cliff, near where the Red Rock flouring mill 
 now is, at the mouth of Boulder canon.' 
 
 The Old Chief, Left Hand, of the Arapahoes, then 
 with his band encamped north, on the St. Vrain, was 
 quickly notified of the arrival of the intruders, and 
 hastened to the red-cliff camp, full of apprehension of 
 the impending fate of his tribe, but assuming an air 
 of unconcern and authority, he commanded, "Go 
 away; you come to eat our grass, burn our timber, 
 kill our game, and get our gold." The old chief 
 intended to drive off the whites, but was caught by 
 guile. The crafty little company of gold seekers 
 ipceived him with a show of doing him honor, and
 
 COLORADO. 5 I 
 
 made obeisance to the presence of "Big Indian." 
 While being fed and flattered, in a gush of gratitude, 
 he pledged eternal friendship, declaring that the 
 country was big enough and rich enough for all, and 
 that red and white man would live in peace together 
 forever. " 
 
 In January, 1859, the first pick was struck in Gold 
 Run, and $100,000 was taken therefrom the following 
 summer, when a large number of men were engaged 
 in gulch mining. Hand rockers were extensively 
 used, and many men took out from $70 to $80 per 
 day, each. The mountain above this gulch was 
 named Gold Hill. J. D. Scott made the first discov- 
 ery of a gold vein here, in the spring of 1859, which 
 he named after himself. About the same time David 
 Horsfal discovered the Horsfal lode, afterwards so 
 famous for its gold yield. Hundreds of other discov- 
 eries followed. 
 
 In the summer of 1859, a Mr. Banker was shot by 
 Indians, supposed to be Utes. A company of miners 
 immediately started in pursuit of the murderers, but the 
 band escaped over the snowy range. In i860 a vast 
 i amount of timber land was burned over. So rapid 
 was -the advance of the flames that many escaped 
 only by diving into shafts and prospect holes. 
 
 Thos. J. Graham brought a three-stamp mill from 
 Leavenworth in 1859, arriving at Boulder in October 
 of that year. It was put up and began work on Left 
 Hand, in the spring of i860, on Horsfal ore. During 
 the same season Becker and Opple put up a mi.lL
 
 52 COLORADO. 
 
 Wra, Greene, Steele & Britton, the Chicago Company, 
 Holt & Holly, Charley Pencost, J. W. Smith ( now of 
 Denver), and 1). 1). White also brought in mills. 
 
 The News says further of the days of '59: "The 
 crudeness of the art of saving gold in those days, is 
 well set out in the story yet told of 1). D. White's 
 experience. When he came in from the Missouri 
 river, according to the custom of those days, he loaded 
 with a stamp mill and bacon, and to economize space 
 filled the batteries of the mill with the fat bacon sides, 
 utterly ignorant that grease and amalgamation of gold 
 do not agree. He started the mill with the batteries 
 full of the fat, and after a run on rich ore, the clean- 
 up, of course, showed not a trace of gold ! 
 
 Besides these stamp mills, the Left Hand, opposite 
 the hill, was lined with arastras. Among the first to 
 put up and operate them was our townsman, Austin 
 Smith. 
 
 In i860 Gold Hill was a camp of about 1,500 
 people. When it was found that the crude process in 
 use did not save the gold, the place declined. Of the 
 pioneers whose names have not been mentioned above, 
 many yet remain in the county, among its foremost 
 citizens. Of those whose names are given us, are W. 
 A. Corson, Esq., one of the best known citizens of 
 the county, its first Sheriff, and since holding many 
 important positions of trust; Charley Dabney, a lead- 
 ing citizen of Boulder; P. M. Housel, the first County 
 Judge; George W. Chambers, now a resident of Gold 
 I Till, and the first County Treasurer, and one of the first
 
 COLORADO. 53 
 
 Board of County Commissioners ; Wm. Bryant, now 
 of Nederland ; George Zweck, a wealthy farmer on 
 the St. Vrain; John DeBacker, and family; Capt. J. 
 A. Graham, of the National Hotel, Boulder; Mr. 
 McCaslin, a wealthy St. Vrain farmer ; W. R. Blore, 
 a leading stockman on the Little Thompson; Henry 
 Green, afterwards Sheriff of the county, and now 
 manager at the Corning Tunnel, cutting under Gold 
 Hill; Henry Hager, a thrifty St. Vrain farmer; Per- 
 kins Allen; Peter Iverson; Wm. Sellers ; Wm. Stretch; 
 J. A. Hitchings; Jos. Rhodes; E. C. Dubois; the 
 negro, Bowman; Jacob Purdy; Charles F. Holly, the 
 first Representative from Boulder county, afterwards 
 a Territorial Judge; James A. Carr, one of the best 
 citizens of Boulder; Hiram Buck, a farmer of Lower 
 Boulder, and E. H. N. Patterson, at the present time 
 editor of the Georgetown Miner. 
 
 In 1859-60, gold mining was carried on in various 
 localities in these mountains, chiefly in the vicinity of 
 the tellurium belt now mined so successfully. Gulch 
 and lode mining was conducted quite successfully. 
 Gold Hill developed some very rich lodes, such as 
 the Horsfal, while not far away was the Hoosier, the 
 Columbia in Ward District, and others. The mines 
 on Gold Dirt hill were in some cases surprisingly rich, 
 but eventually "pinched up," and were abandoned. 
 For several years prior to 1870, mining affairs were 
 at a low ebb in Boulder county. That year silver 
 mining for the first time, became a source of industry 
 and excitement, and caused the establishment of a
 
 54 COLORADO. 
 
 lively mining camp. In 1873, that rare mineral, tellu- 
 rium, found only in two other localities in the world, 
 was found to exist .it Gold Mill, and the Red Cloud 
 revived the waning fortunes and reputation of the 
 district, until newer and better mines were found near 
 by, and at Sunshine, Magnolia and elsewhere. Now 
 the gold and silver interests rival each other in mag- 
 nitude. 
 
 Pueblo was founded in the winter of 1859-60, and 
 at once became a rival of Fontaine City, and soon 
 absorbed it. Its first settlers were Doctors Belt and 
 Catterson, W. Catterson, C. Warren, Ed. Cozzens, J. 
 Wright, and Albert Bercaw, who came from Missouri 
 and Denver. lion. Geo. M. Chilcott was also one of 
 the early settlers. 
 
 The following in regard to Buckskin, or Laurette, 
 Park county, is obtained from one of the pioneer 
 miners of the place: 
 
 "In August, 1859, a party of prospectors, consisting 
 of Joseph Higginbottom (alias Buckskin Joe), W. H. 
 K. Smith, M. Phillips, A. Fairchilds, D. Berger, David 
 Greist, and others, discovered gold in the banks of the 
 creek and in the gulch near the site of the old town 
 of Buckskin. On the discovery of the precious metal 
 a meeting was held and a code of mining laws was 
 adopted. The district was called Buckskin Joe 
 Mining District, in honor of Mr. Higginbottom, who 
 was at the head of the band. The stream was named 
 Fairchild's creek, in honor of one of the party. In 
 September, 1859, the Phillips lode, which has played
 
 COLORADO. 5 5 
 
 such a conspicuous part in the history of Park county 
 and Colorado, and which has yielded over ,$300,000, 
 was discovered. But little mining was done until the 
 following year, 1 860. The miners were mainly engaged 
 in prospecting, staking leads and securing their 
 claims from trespass and jumping. The district was 
 reorganized, and a new code of laws adopted in the 
 early part of the season of i860. J. W. Hibbard 
 was chosen President of the district, and Jacob B. 
 Stansell, Recorder. By September a large number 
 of lodes was recorded, and every crevice in the rocks 
 on each side of the gulch, wherever crevice matter 
 of any kind was found, was claimed, staked and 
 recorded. Among the lodes claimed to have been 
 discovered, were the Phillips, Mammoth, Bates, Buck- 
 skin Toe, and the Union lodes, nine in number, but 
 none were opened and worked until the spring of 1861. 
 
 October, i860, the town of Buckskin Joe was 
 staked out by a company consisting of Messrs. Hib- 
 bard, Stansell and Miles Dodge, who gave to the new 
 town the name of Laurette. About the first of June, 
 1 86 1 the district was reorganized and a new code of 
 laws adopted — N. J. Bond was elected President and 
 Judge of the district, and George Dealby, Recorder. 
 
 Some rich developments were made which created 
 a very great excitement, and people from all parts of 
 the territory flocked to the place, living in houses, 
 tents, wagons and under trees, until the town and 
 gulch numbered over two thousand people. In Sep- 
 tember of this year, Charles M. Farrand erected the
 
 56 COLORADO. 
 
 first quartz mil] in the district, and the first in the 
 Southern minus, and commenced crushing quartz 
 from the Phillips mine, for Bond & Stansell, from No. 
 6, which was the big claim, and yielded more gold 
 than all of the others. By the first of November, 
 there were in operation, and running day and night, 
 one steam quartz mill of ten stamps, and water 
 mills, of eight, and six stamps, and twelve arastras, 
 besides four sluices run during the day. By April 
 1862, there were erected and in operation nine stamp 
 mills, in all seventy-eight stamps, employing in their 
 workings and that of the mines about three hundred 
 men. On January 1862, the first number of the West- 
 ern Mountaineer, was issuedby Matt. Ridlcbarger, 
 W. L. McMath, editor. It was a spicy little sheet, but 
 had a brief existence, and suspended immediately 
 after the election in November. 
 
 The county seat of Park county was first established 
 by proclamation of Governor Gilpin, at Tarryall, which 
 was a dead letter, as the officers refused to obey it, 
 and established the offices at Laurette. The first 
 election for county officers was held in December, 
 1 86 1. W. L. McMath, was elected Probate Judge, 
 J. L. Lewis, Sheriff; George Wing, Recorder; L. W. 
 Dorsett, A. Slaght and L. L. Robinson, County 
 Commissioners. The first term of the District Court 
 was held in the Hall of Stansell, Bond & Harris, and 
 was presided over by judge Chas. Lee Armor. Lau- 
 rette at this time was well supplied with stores, hotels 
 and business houses of every kind, not lacking a town
 
 COLORADO. 57 
 
 hall, in which Jack Langrishe and Mike Dougherty 
 held their theatre. The town was not without its 
 gambling saloons, and in one of these the first and 
 only murder was committed, in February 1862. The 
 murdered man was a gambler by the name of Pete 
 Conitan. The town remained a prosperous mining 
 centre until the fall of 1863, when it began to die, and 
 by 1865 was almost deserted. In 1866, the county 
 seat was removed from Laurette to Fairplay, and the 
 Post Office, which was established in 1862, changed 
 from Laurette to Buckskin. 
 
 In 1866, among the grand swindles perpetrated in 
 Colorado, was the sale of the Excelsior lode, to the Col- 
 orado Mining Company, who began operations under 
 the supervision of Prof. Dubois, and after the expen- 
 diture of about four hundred and fifty thousand dol- 
 lars in the mines and machinery, they succeeded in 
 realizing from their principal run, about five penny- 
 weights of retort gold, four dollars and fifty cents coin 
 value. The operations of this company and their 
 expenditures, for a time made business lively, but, 
 when they suspended, it was a terrible blow and the 
 town died. At the present writing Buckskin numbers 
 about twenty persons, all voters. Thirteen houses 
 only, remain standing, but her mines are being con- 
 stantly and steadily developed. The Phillips lode, 
 is now owned and controlled by J. Q. Hart, of St. 
 Louis, J. Q. A. Rollins, the estate of J. H. Morrison, 
 N. J. Bond, the Stark Bros., and J. B. Stansell. Work 
 is being vigorously prosecuted by N. J. Bond and the
 
 58 COLORADO. 
 
 Stark Bros.. and the lode bids fair to eclipse its former 
 greatness. The gulch and bars arc being worked 
 profitably and new and valuable discoveries are being 
 made, and the day is not far distant when Buckskin 
 will take her place among the leading mining towns 
 of the Centennial State. 
 
 The altitude of Buckskin is about 10,000 feet above 
 the level of the sea. It has a fine water power, and is 
 situated in the edge of South Park and immediately at 
 the foot of the snowy range, in sight of perpetual 
 snow, making its location one of the grandest and 
 most romantic in Colorado. 
 
 Evidences have been discovered to show that Buck- 
 skin has been inhabited in the dim past by a people 
 superior to the Indians of the plains, probably by that 
 class who at an early day, built their cities in the cliffs 
 of the mountains of Mexico.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 COLORADO IN i860. EXPLORATIONS. 
 
 A season of Exploration and discovery — General advance- 
 ment and prosperity — Incidents in the early History of 
 Park County — Among the Gulch Mines — A Fatal Duel 
 A sister's honor avenged —Life in the Mining Camps — 
 Mosquito District. 
 
 With the spring of i860, came another wave of 
 immigration, and the season opened most promisingly 
 throughout the whole extent of the Pike's Peak mining 
 region. Mining was continued with redoubled vigor 
 from Boulder county on the north to Lake and Park 
 on the south. The Consolidated Ditch in Gilpin 
 county was completed this season and the result was 
 paying ground for more lhan 1,500 men with an aver- 
 age yield of five dollars per day, where no work was 
 possible before. The yields of that district, of parts of 
 Boulder and of the diggings in the South Park, and 
 on the Blue and Arkansas, were very large. For- 
 tunes were made in a single season. California gulch on 
 the head waters of the Arkansas, was enormously rich 
 and many an oyster can was filled with gold dust and 
 nuggets in a remarkably short space of time. It is 
 said nearly three millions of dollars came from this 
 gulch in the years ending with the season of 1863. 
 
 A grand rush for the San Juan country took place 
 this year but nothing of value was found and sev-
 
 60 COLORADO. 
 
 oral barrels of whiskey were lost by reason of the 
 prospectors having been driven from that section by 
 the snow and the Ute Indians. For twelve or thir- 
 teen years, this region of colossal mountains was 
 believed to be destitute of mineral wealth. Since 
 1872, however, some of the richest gold and silver 
 veins in the world have been discovered there, causing 
 the latest mining excitement in Colorado, and one that 
 promises permanent results and enormous wealth. 
 
 Of the rich returns that rewarded the bar miner in 
 the vicinity of Idaho, and of the still richer "finds" 
 of Empire, further mention will be made in the his- 
 torical sketch of Clear Creek county. 
 
 Denver grew rapidly in the year i860. George W. 
 Brown founded the first Bank. Clark. Gruber & Co., 
 built a banking, coining, and assay establishment 
 which was purchased by the government, in April, 
 1862. It has since been used as a government assay 
 office connected with the United States Mint. Two 
 military companies were organized this summer in 
 Denver. Several brick buildings were erected and a 
 large number of frames. Turner & Hobbs established 
 a banking house, with rates of interest at from ten to 
 twenty-five per cent a month. 
 
 The rates of freight across the plains by ox or 
 mule trains were from ten to twenty cents per pound 
 or from five to ten times what they now are. 
 
 A band of desperadoes had congregated in Denver 
 in the summer of i860, and several atrocious mur- 
 ders were committed by them. The Denver News
 
 COLORADO. . 6 1 
 
 office was fired into and its proprietor placed in daily 
 peril of his life for daring to condemn their lawless 
 acts. The result was, the citizens armed themselves, 
 shot and hung a few of the ruffians, while one was 
 pursued by the Sheriff through the Indian Territory 
 and Kansas, brought back and duly executed. This 
 settled the businesss, and lawlessness was a thing of 
 the past, from that time forward. 
 
 An immense number of miners were at work this 
 season in the Platte diggings at or near Fairplay. 
 Allen's account of affairs in Park county this season 
 contains the following : 
 
 "At night, after the boxes had been cleaned, the 
 expressions of satisfaction and disappointment at the 
 result, would challenge the greed of the miser and 
 the disgust of the spendthrift. 
 
 July of this year witnessed the terrible duel between 
 Pemly and Sanford, both of whom were Texans, 
 playmates in their boyhood and college mates in after 
 years. The immediate cause that led to the fatal duel, 
 was the seduction of Pemly 's only sister, by Sanford. 
 Sanford at once left his home- and was followed by 
 Pemly through California, Australia, New Zealand, 
 Frazier River, and finally, to Fairplay, Colorado. 
 Sanford was at work in a pit when Pemly appeared 
 on the scene. The salutation was short, "At last." 
 Pemly was in the act of raising his rifle, when Sanford 
 cried out, "Give me a chance ;" to which Pemly replied 
 "Come up and we'll arrange preliminaries." The 
 weapons chosen were rifles, the distance thirty paces,
 
 62 COLORADO. 
 
 and the signal was to fire while one, two and three, 
 were being counted. It was understood that if both 
 missed, the contest was to be finished with the pistol. 
 Scarcely a second of time intervened between the 
 discharge of the rifles. Both fell, Sanford, shot 
 through the heart, and Pemley with a crease of a 
 bullet through his hair. The verdict of the miners 
 was, that a sister's honor had been justly avenged. 
 
 The richest gravel paid from five to fifteen dollars 
 per day to the man. The entire gulch was worked to 
 great disadvantage. The reason is self evident, that 
 none of the miners of that day were possessed of 
 sufficient means to run a bed rock flume, and if they 
 had been, the enterprise, to have been successful, 
 would have required the consolidation of the almost 
 numberless claims into which the gulch had been 
 divided. 
 
 The rough and unhewn characters, of both sexes 
 took an active part in the every day scenes of a busy 
 frontier life, and to the abandoned and fallen women, 
 who followed the army of prospectors, like a swarm 
 of locusts, some credit is due. Wretched and degra- 
 ded, ignored by the christian, and spat upon by the 
 so-called moralist, victims of a jeering world, they 
 forgot " Mans' inhumanity to man," and were the 
 direct means of saving many valuable lives from that 
 dreaded disease, mountain fever. The roughs were in 
 force, and a few were troublesome. Invitations to 
 leave were regarded with lamblike meekness." 
 
 Crold in plentiful quantities was found near the
 
 COLORADO. 63 
 
 base of Mount Lincoln. A district was organized 
 named Independant. Within a few weeks a town 
 called Montgomery, had a population of eight hun- 
 dred, a theatre and six quartz mills in full blast. The 
 decay of this place is attributed to the bonding of 
 mines and consequent abandonment of work. Beaver 
 creek, during those early times, received the name of 
 "pound diggings," the explanation of which, is that 
 each man could obtain a pound of gold, or two hun- 
 dred and twenty dollars per day. The first owners 
 were a party of Scotchmen and then Truman & Pease, 
 who sold to Geo. A. Sidel in 1875; the latter, after 
 a considerable outlay, is likely to realize largely. 
 Later years have demonstrated the fact, that in Mos- 
 quito mining district are located some most valuable 
 gold and silver mines. Recent discoveries would indi- 
 cate that the vein system in this famed locality may 
 be classed as true fissures. Large and wealthy com- 
 panies are preparing to erect works on a large scale, 
 notably, Puskas & Ford — to treat the ores of the 
 London mine. 
 
 Mosquito Gulch district was organized in June, 
 1 86 1, the Sterling lode, discovered by Dr. Pollock, 
 bearing the oldest record. This gulch lies parallel 
 with and one mile south of Buckskin Joe, from 
 which it is separated by Buckskin mountain. The 
 name was given from a large mosquito alighting on 
 the Recorder's book while the question of naming 
 the district was being discussed. A small pocket of 
 gold ore found on the Lulu lode caused an influx
 
 <..| COLORADO 
 
 of prospectors, though some claimed that the ore was 
 brought there from the Phillips. The third discovery 
 was the < Orphan Boy lode, made in July, 1861, by S. 
 Sheppard, who started out with II. VV. Dorsett and 
 Webber, to discover the extension of the Phillips 
 and with this result. This lode is still thought 
 to he a portion of the same great vein as the 
 Phillips. In [862, when the property had mainly 
 fallen into the hands of Dorsett and of John W. Smith 
 a\ Denver, it was worked with great success and in a 
 few years yielded $200,000. A tunnel is now being 
 driven to strike it at a great depth. 
 
 The town of Sterling was laid out in 1862, and at 
 one time contained five active quartz mills. To-day 
 but one of them remain and the population is limited 
 to twelve people. Among the early discoveries were 
 the War Eagle, Columbus, Jenny, Platte, Demory, 
 Elephant, and Evening Star lodes; all paying well 
 tor a lime and then abandoned. Most of them have 
 since been relocated under different names. 
 
 The first si her was discovered in Mosquito soon 
 after the Ten-Forty lode was found in Buckskin and 
 prior to the silver discoveries on mounts Lincoln and 
 Bross. Prominent among the silver veins, are the 
 London, Mono, Lone Star, Keystone, and Joe Chaffee, 
 all good paying mines, and the district bids fair to be 
 one of the richest in Colorado.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 EARLY HISTORY OF GILPIN COUNTY. 
 
 The days of "Fifty Nine, Sixty and Sixty one"— Mail Fa- 
 cilities — Alining Districts — Holding Court under diffi- 
 culties — Vigilantes. 
 
 The first Sheriff in the Gregory Diggings, was 
 named Reece, and he was succeeded by Jack Keeler. 
 In the fall of 1859, Keeler was Sheriff of Arapahoe 
 county, which included the entire Pike's Peak region, 
 and Win. Z. Cozzens was his deputy. There were 
 many hard cases in the country at that time; among 
 them was a desperado called Pensyltuck. He was 
 taken out and hung one night — it is thought with 
 Keeler's permission or connivance — by an impromptu 
 organization of vigilantes. One man was hung in 
 Lake gulch in i860, for shooting an unoffending Ger- 
 man. Several men who had violated the laws, were 
 stripped and whipped and then banished from the 
 mountains with the penalty of death awaiting them if 
 they returned. Severe punishment was meted out to 
 any one known to steal or appropriate mining tools 
 in a prospect hole or wherever found. After the earlier 
 years ,the entire mountains were remarkably free from 
 crime. Doors of sleeping apartments and dwellings, 
 were often left unlocked at night for months, and cases 
 of theft were unusually rare, until a year or two after 
 the great railroads reached Denver and Golden from 
 5
 
 on COLORADO. 
 
 the east Only two executions under legal authority 
 ever took place in the mountains, and not one since 
 the olden times. * me execution came off in Febru- 
 ary, [870, when a negro was hung at Central for par- 
 ticipating in the murder of a white man in Quartz 
 Valley. Van I torn was hung in Jan. 1864, for killing 
 Copeland. Mike Storms succeed Keeler, and Tom 
 Van livi s was his deputy. 
 
 Nevada district was set off from Gregory August 
 1st, [859, Russell, August 15th, and Central City, in 
 the summer of 1S60. It is said that 15,000 men had 
 congregated within the limits of Gilpin county, in 
 lime, [860, but most of these were transient visitors 
 and soon started out for other localities. 
 
 Spring gulch yielded two ounces of gold to the man 
 per day, or about thirty-five dollars, in i860. Among 
 the fortunate ones were Moon & Co., Pleas, Byers & Co. 
 and others. In the fall of i860, H. P. Morgan a part- 
 ner of James Cavanaugh, was elected to the Kansas 
 Legislature. 
 
 The fall of 1859, Madam VVakely, with the Haidee 
 girls and family, who formed a part of Thorn's troupe, 
 which broke up at Denver, opened a Theatre in a 
 large log building at Mountain City. They' played 
 lo crowded houses, and the fair Haidees won the 
 heart of many a miner and mountaineer. In 1 86 1, 
 Langrishc started his troupe at Central, at the People's 
 Theatre on Main street. It was made up of parties 
 who came with him and several actors who were then 
 living here. Mike Dougherty who had been mining
 
 COLORADO. 67 
 
 at Idaho, and had made some money, became a part- 
 ner of Langrishe. At that time George Harrison 
 was conducting the large theatre in the building put 
 up by Barnes & Jones, and afterwards partly owned by 
 Langrishe. From the balcony of this building, Harri- 
 son shot Charles Switz, (a rough character,) in the 
 street below. A woman, M'dlle Marietta who played 
 for Harrison was the cause and it was understood to 
 be a "shoot on sight" affair. Harrison was cleared at a 
 considerable outlay of money. Both theatres did a 
 good business on an admission price of one dollar 
 and fifty cents. From this time forward Langrishe 
 conducted the theatrical business at all of the leading 
 towns and mining camps of the territory, tarrying in 
 each as long as he drew good houses. He maintained 
 this circuit (except when visiting Montana,) until 1870. 
 His troupe was usually better than the "stock" em- 
 ployed at DeBar's theatre in St. Louis, and he often 
 secured the services of "stars" of considerable merit. 
 Some queer judicial characters figured in the days 
 of " fifty-nine and sixty." There was a Judge in 
 Nevada district who was once called upon to try a 
 case involving mining property of some value. H. B. 
 Morse was retained in the case and after bringing an 
 armful of legal books and authorities and stating his 
 client's case, he began to cite from the book to sustain 
 his eloquent plea. The Judge (Jones) who was from the 
 uneducated backwoods of Missouri, finally grew impa- 
 tient and said : " The court don't go a cent on them air 
 leather kivered books, and decides the case for the 
 other side."
 
 68 COLOR M>< '• 
 
 Ill the same district in [86] \V. Train Mewir was 
 the fudge. Although not a man inclined to hunt a 
 quarrel, he was what was called " right square on the 
 fight" The case before the court was one for slander 
 of a willow, and it stems it had gone on until a good 
 deal of ill feeling had arisen among the lawyers and 
 between some of them and the Judge. The court 
 room was a saloon engaged for the occasion. Each 
 lawyer had a big navy or a horse pistol on the table 
 before him. The Judge had one of huge dimensions, 
 perhaps two feet long, which he used to enforce order. 
 Ill-re was no jail or prison, so it was useles to attempt 
 to fine a man for contempt of court, and the way the 
 judge brought an attorney to order was by bringing 
 down his shooting iron and taking "a bead," on the 
 offender, at the same time that he commanded him to 
 " sit down." This had the desired effect of tempor- 
 rarily quieting the obstreperous scions of the law 
 and also, of clearing the room for a few moments, of 
 all who stood within range. On the third day of the 
 trial, Rankin, one of the lawyers for the defense, 
 attempted to read a letter from some person in Illinois, 
 reflecting on the lady's character, but the court would 
 not receive it as evidence. In summing up the case 
 another attempt was made to submit the letter and 
 Rankin swore it should be admitted if his side must 
 kill every one opposing, and drew his revolver. Then 
 then.' was a general (hawing of revolvers by some 
 half a dozen men on each side, who ranged themselves 
 in line of battle while the spectators hastily withdrew.
 
 COLORADO. 69 
 
 The opinion of the court was sustained however, 
 without bloodshed. This was one of Henry M. Tel- 
 ler's first experiences before the bar in Colorado, but 
 he did not participate in the warlike operations of his 
 comrades. The slanderer was eventually heavily 
 fined, while the widow's good name was generally 
 considered retrieved. 
 
 Among the lawyers at Mountain city in 1859, some 
 of whom had their offices in their hats, were H. P. A. 
 Smith, Sam McLane, Richard Johnson, Judge May- 
 hew, C. C. Post, Geo. W. Brazee, C. C. Clements and 
 Geo. Ainslee and Charles R. Bissell. At Central, in 
 i860, were L. L. Weld, Judge Purkins, James M. 
 Cavanagh, H. B. Morse and Bristol, H. A. Johnson, 
 and Swift. At Nevada, were W. T. Miller, John W. 
 Remine, Judge Morgan, and Al. Thomson. Some of 
 the above were also located at Missouri city, at times. 
 It will be seen that the bar in those days was repre- 
 sented by no little ability. 
 
 C. B. Clements was Probate Judge in 1861 and 
 when leaving for a two months visit to the states, left 
 Bela S. Buell, who was then holding other responsible 
 offices, to act in his place. Buell filled the bill admi- 
 rably, and neither knew until sometime after that the 
 proceedings were entirely illegal. 
 
 In 1859, Dr. Casto and a Mr. Shepherd ran expresses 
 from Denver up the almost impassable mountain 
 roads to Central.' They continued this until the spring 
 of i860. Hinkley & Co., started a mail and express 
 line to the mountains and sold to the C. O. C. and
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 T. 1'. Express of \V. II. Russell & Co. The Western 
 i ,also started lines running Into the mountains 
 In [859-60, the express offices, which, in the 
 tnce of V. S. mail facilities, also constituted the 
 post offices, were the most interesting localities in any 
 mining district. The office of Hinkley's express and 
 afterwards of the Pike's Peak express for Gilpin county 
 (Gregory Diggings) was situated at Central city, and 
 Bela S. Buell was the agent. On the site of the First 
 National Hank, corner of Main and Eureka streets, 
 stood a log building forming a single room, whose 
 dimensions were thirty-two feet by sixteen. This 
 contained the express office and its mail department. 
 The courts of Eureka district were held there; and in 
 the same apartment were the offices of D. Tom Smith, 
 district recorder, and of Dr. Smith. Waill's jewelry 
 store and the law office of Purkins and Weld also 
 found snug corners in this beehive. This shows that 
 desirable locations were duly economized in those 
 days. The Express office occupied a space nine feet 
 by six, enclosed by a picket fence. Here was packed 
 and piled the large amount of express matter, and the 
 immense quantity of letters and the distributing boxes 
 they required. The office was open from 7 o'clock 
 a. m. to 9 p. m., and had two delivery windows and a 
 man at each. For a long time it was the only mail 
 distributing office in the mountains. During the sum- 
 mer months and often in winter, two Ibng lines of men, 
 numbering from 100 to 300, were always awaiting the 
 opening of the windows in the morning, and there
 
 COLORADO. 7 1 
 
 was seldom much diminution of the crowd, (except 
 from 2 to 6 p. m.) until closing time at night. Men 
 who had trudged many a weary mile over mountain 
 and ravine to hear from the dear ones in some far 
 eastern home, after keeping their places in the lines 
 for an hour, were doomed to the disappointment of 
 seeing the windows close just before they reached 
 them. Delivering letters was then a slow business, 
 owing to the charge of twenty-five cents per letter by 
 the express company, and as gold dust was the cur- 
 rency of the country, time was required to weigh out 
 the payment in gold dust from the pouch of each man 
 receiving a letter. For this purpose scales were used 
 inside of the office window as at all points of trade 
 in those days. Men experienced much difficulty in 
 hearing from home, as letters were usually directed 
 simply to Pike's Peak, with no town or other locality 
 written upon them. The thousands on thousands of 
 missives from wives, sweethearts, parents or friends, 
 first came to Denver and were then sent to whatever 
 part of the mountains a man was thought to be, and 
 for a long time to Central only. One man, Noah 
 Smith, mining in Park county, who had received no 
 tidings from his wife for many months, was told by a 
 friend from Gregory that four letters were awaiting 
 him in the Central office. There was no way to get 
 them except to walk over the mountains to that place, 
 and he accordingly tramped the entire distance of 
 ninety-four miles, only to find that some other man of 
 the same name had taken them from the office. This
 
 
 CO] i M<AI>i >. 
 
 shows the eagerness of those brave pioneers and exiles 
 to heai from the loved ones at home, as well as the 
 difficulties in so doing, previous to the establishment 
 of I nited States mails and of the necessary post 
 offices, rhese troubles were enhanced by the transi- 
 ts v character of the population, which would be here 
 to-day, ami there to-morrow, one half of the people 
 having no permanent abiding place. California and 
 many other -niches beyond the mountains and far to 
 the south waid, attracted multitudes from the older 
 camps and a rich strike in McNulty gulch drew five 
 hundred men in a single day. Hollister says of this 
 non-receipt of mails : 
 
 " The delay was wearing, how terribly so, none can 
 know but those who have felt it. The heart of the 
 wanderer in the west ever goes back to the home of 
 his childhood. Thence the winds bear him the per- 
 fumes of the days that are no more — all the fond 
 memories of a young life. It is he who prizes letters 
 from home." 
 
 States newspapers were seldom received in Colorado 
 and but little was known of what was going on in 
 the great world, save what could be gleaned from the 
 few weekly papers of this region. There was no tel- 
 aphic facilities until near the close of 1863, and 
 eastern news was a little stale if received at all. In 
 August, [860, the first United States mail service was 
 extended into the mountains. In May, of the same 
 year the Herald, of Denver, began to publish a daily 
 edition and the News did likewise in August.
 
 COLORADO. 73 
 
 That summer there were sixty stamp mills in Gilpin 
 county and these usually failed to save the gold in 
 paying quantities. There were also thirty arastras, 
 but the quartz, as depth was gained, became too hard 
 for that treatment. A writer of that day says: "Too 
 many are trying to make money without digging or 
 working for it. They will find to their sorrow that 
 the gold must be dug from the ground before it can 
 get into their pockets."
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 I K UNSPORTING GOVERNMENT SUPPLIES. 
 
 Early Locomotion on tin Plains r< i i h of the Border— 
 l'h< Mormon Expedition The Pike's Peak Stage Line— 
 How a Fortune was Won anil Lost -The Story of the 
 Pony Expn 88 — Sow Billy Russell secured an Overland 
 Mail, and what it /></ /<> Tin Pa<-ifn- Railway and its 
 Ri suits Ritsst l/'s <>[>< rations in and for Colorado. 
 
 As far back as 1 845 the hazardous business of 
 transporting government supplies for the scattered 
 military posts of the far west, as well as merchandise 
 for the distant New Mexican region, was entirely 
 monopolized by a few men in western Missouri — then 
 the extreme border of civilization. Everything des- 
 tined for these points north, south or west, save the 
 American Fur Company's supplies, which went up 
 the Missouri at high water time, was taken from the 
 boats at Blue Mills Landing, and conveyed six miles, 
 inland, to Independence. From that place the long 
 wagon trains took their departure for New Mexico 
 and the boundless and almost unknown country 
 towards the setting sun — one voyage a year being the 
 extent of the operations of these "prairie schooners." 
 In the decade before the Pike's Peak gold discovery, 
 the sub-contractors and wagon masters of these trains 
 were mostly men who had crossed the plains and the 
 Cordilleras, and fought the battles of their country in
 
 
 
 PRAIRIE SCHOONER, OR SHIP OF THE PLAINS, AT ANCHOR. 
 
 SHIP OF THE PLAINS, IN DOCK.
 
 COLORADO. 75 
 
 Mexico in the daring and romantic expedition com- 
 manded by the gallant Doniphan. They were inured 
 to hardships and dangers, many of the train having 
 absolutely fought their way through the hostile bands 
 of Indians that infested the road from Independence 
 to Santa Fe. No less than two large trains loaded 
 with valuable merchandise were captured by the sav- 
 ages between the years 1847 and '50. 
 
 The largest fortunes in Clay, Jackson, Lafayette 
 and Platte counties, had their origin in six yokes of 
 oxen and a prairie wagon. When the California gold 
 excitment broke out, long trains from the western 
 states left the Missouri river bound for the Pacific 
 coast. The distance was 2,000 miles, and was made 
 in five months with ox teams — then the only available 
 means of heavy transportation. The protection of 
 these immigrants, and the annexation of California 
 and New Mexico, caused the establishment of several 
 new military posts, and before the Mormon war broke 
 out in 1857, the governmental transportation business 
 had assumed very extensive proportions. 
 
 At this time Wm. H. Russell, of the leading trad- 
 ing and shipping firm of Russell, Majors & Waddell, 
 received a contract to transport the supplies for the 
 entire army destined for Salt Lake, as well as for 
 intermediate posts. This required 60,000 head of 
 cattle, 8,000 wagons and about 1,000 mules, which 
 were sub-divided into trains and let to Missouri farm- 
 ers and freighters. Each of these trains consisted of 
 twenty-six wagons, three mules and about thirty men,
 
 j6 COLORADO. 
 
 with six yokes of cattle to each wagon. It is said by- 
 old army officers that this enormous contract was more 
 satisfactorily performed in those unwarlike times than 
 any made before or since. The hardships endured on 
 this expedition are still vividly remembered by mem- 
 bers thereof. The progress was necessarily slow and 
 the rear columns often occupied the camping ground 
 held by 'he vanguard on the previous night. As no 
 subsistence was obtainable on the route, large herds 
 of beef cattle were driven along. Winter came on 
 with the expedition in the mountains of Wyoming, 
 and it was no unusual thing for several hundreds of 
 cattle to perish in a single night from the effects of 
 cold and snow. It has always been asserted that had 
 Gen. Harney been allowed to proceed and carry out 
 his plans he would have encamped in Salt Lake that 
 winter and not have been exposed to its inclemencies 
 as was his successor Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston. 
 Then as now, there appears to have been too much 
 hesitation and peace policy in western measures. 
 Governor Cummings of Utah was accused of sympa- 
 thising with the Mormons, and of controlling or re- 
 tarding Johnston's movements. The succeeding year 
 the army occupied the Mormon country. In i860, 
 one herd of 4,800 cattle belonging to Russell & Co., 
 were frozen to death in three days in what is now 
 known as Skull Valley, Utah. When informed of the 
 loss through Hockaday's express, Russell made no 
 other remark than, "send the hides and horns east by 
 return (wagon) trains." These facts are given to show
 
 
 #w
 
 COLORADO. 77 
 
 the character of the man and the magnitude of his 
 operations. 
 
 In the spring of 1859, when the Pike's Peak immi- 
 gration had fairly set in, Russell, Majors & Waddel, 
 and John S. Jones, under the firm name of Russell, 
 Jones & Co., organized the Pike's Peak Express Com- 
 pany. They bought the Hockaday line of coaches 
 running from the Missouri river to Salt Lake, and the 
 main line to Colorado diverged south from Fort Kear- 
 ney, Nebraska. The line was stocked with fine new 
 coaches and the best lot of mules from Missouri, 
 Kentucky and Tennessee ever owned by any company. 
 The financial history of this great enterprise, was not 
 a success. Costly stations and supplies in a wild and 
 barren country were necessary, an express messenger 
 accompanied the driver, and for a time an outrider or 
 a mounted man rode along to urge the mules to 
 greater speed. The stage stations were usually from 
 twelve to fifteen miles apart, where the mules were 
 changed. It has been stated that the late John S. 
 Jones and W. H. Russell gave away more tickets to 
 disappointed men returning or to parties "going out" 
 to seek lost relations than were sold at Leavenworth. 
 The distance from that point to Denver by this route 
 was about seven hundred miles, and the fare was one 
 hundred dollars, and one dollar was charged for 
 meals at the stations owned by the company. There 
 were no government postal facilities until i860, prior 
 to which time the company received all mails destined 
 for Colorado, at Leavenworth. Amos Steck, had
 
 CO] ORADO. 
 
 charge of the postal distributing office of the comp- 
 any .it Denver, and twenty-five cents was the charge 
 for each Letter. 
 
 In [862, when the company had the mail contract, 
 the United States Government was in arrears to it for 
 nine month's postal service, amounting to $60,000. 
 Hen. I loladay, often called the pioneer overland coach- 
 man, who hail made a large amount of money through 
 Russell in the famous government flour and mule 
 contracts, became identified with the line, and in a 
 short time through the valuable assistance of Senator 
 and General Jim Lane, of Kansas, became its owner. 
 Just previous to this, agents had passed over the line 
 to appraise its value, and its stock, stations and sup- 
 plies, were found to be worth together $700,000. A 
 previous advance of $40,000 was the means by which 
 Holiday obtained all of this property,. and he reim- 
 bursed himself for even that, when the government 
 settled the back mail dues. He resold the line to 
 Wells, Fargo & Co., in 1863-4, for $ 1,500,000 in 
 stock, which he promised to keep, but sold instead. 
 
 To go back to earlier times again, the great Cali- 
 fornia and Pacific coast mails had been conveyed by 
 the Pacific Mail steamship line via the Isthmus, since 
 the first years of the Pacific gold excitement. Early 
 in i860, representatives of Wells, Fargo & Co., and 
 of the Butterfield or Southern Overland Company, 
 with other prominent stage men had resolved to secure 
 a four years contract from Congress at one million 
 dollars per annum, to carry the mails overland, and
 
 COLORADO. 79 
 
 thus get them away from the steamship company. 
 Russell's new Pike's Peak or Northern line, sometimes 
 derisively called the "Ox Mail Express," was not coun- 
 ted in on this scheme. That line had none but the 
 old Hockaday mail contract, requiring them to deliver 
 only six mails to and from Utah in the summer 
 months, and three in the winter, and none to Colorado 
 or other points, and from these occasional mails arose 
 the term, "Ox mail." During the winter a trial trip 
 for speed was made by the steamship company and 
 Butterfield stage line. The course of the latter lay 
 through Texas, Arizona and California. The Stages 
 made the trip so that the New York mails reached 
 San Francisco in twenty-one and one-half days, beat- 
 ing the Steamship line a day and a half. So matters 
 stood at the time of which we write and the Pacific 
 Mail still held possession of the coveted prize. 
 
 Much to the surprise of these great companies, in 
 February i860, the following advertisement appeared 
 in the New York Herald, and in the Washington Star, 
 the latter paper being owned by Russell. 
 
 " I will start an express across the continent from 
 St. Joseph Mo., to Sacramento, Cal., April 9th, i860, 
 the schedule time of which will be nine days. Letters 
 weighing two ounces or less, five dollars. Other 
 mail matter specially contracted for at the office, cor- 
 ner of Fulton Street and Broadway, New York City. 
 
 W. H. RUSSELL." 
 
 At this time there was no telegraph across the con- 
 tinent and none extending further west than St. Joseph,
 
 80 l I »LORADO. 
 
 Mo, Beyond a narrow tier of counties in eastern 
 Nebraska and Kansas the country was one dreary waste 
 from river almost to ocean, save the Mormon settle- 
 ment in Utah, and the new lake's Peak country, and 
 such an undertaking was considered fodlhardy and 
 preposterous in the extreme. 
 
 Russell's announcement fell like a bombshell in the 
 (.amps of the huge corporations. A proposition of so 
 novel a character was never expected and was laughed 
 at At the time the advertisement appeared no one 
 in California or the eastern states knew anything of 
 the scheme save a few trusty agents, whom Mr. 
 Russell had set quietly at work placing horses upon 
 the route, unknown even to his partners. When one 
 of the latter, Alexander Majors, among the shrewdest 
 of western contractors, heard of it, he advised Russell's 
 children in Missouri to go to Washington and bring 
 him home. To use the old man's expression, he had 
 long doubted Billy's sanity and "this time he has done 
 gone crazy sure enough." 
 
 On the morning of the 9th day of April i860, ten 
 thousand people were assembled at Saint Joseph, 
 speeches were made, cannons were fired and a special 
 train arrived over the Hannibal and St. Joe. Railroad, 
 with a messenger from New York and a " Pony Ex- 
 press Kxtra," together with extras of other newspapers 
 with full accounts of the enterprise. A beautiful 
 black pony was led forth and a pony rider placed 
 thereon awaiting the signal to go. The mail bag was 
 kept open to the last moment for dispatches and let- 
 ters from the east, and then amid the shouts of the
 
 COLORADO. 8 1 
 
 multitude the pony and his rider started. Many of 
 the people then believed that the same animal was 
 going clear through to California. On the same morn- 
 ing a milk white stead was placed on the steamer Sen- 
 ator at San Francisco and, with an escort of not less 
 than a thousand people, was taken up the river to 
 Sacramento, one hundred and twenty-seven miles 
 inland. The same scenes were there enacted as at St. 
 Joe. and the pony and rider started. Telegrams from 
 New York and the east were delivered on this first trip 
 in eight days and four hours, and letters from San 
 Francisco arrived at St. Joseph in eight days and nine 
 hours! Here was a saving of fifteen days over the 
 usual Pacific Mail Steamship time of twenty-three 
 days, and was of course of vast importance to, and 
 was duly appreciated by, business men east and west. 
 
 This settled the question of the quickest and most 
 direct route to the Pacific and " Little Billy" got the 
 United States mail contract to the exclusion of the 
 steamships and stage companies, and the Butterfield 
 line soon sold its stock to him. He extended his 
 line to Salt lake, where it connected with 'the Chor- 
 penning Co., and mail contract. Time from the Mis- 
 souri river to San Francisco ten days, and from New 
 York fourteen; This went by the name of the Central 
 Overland California and Pike's Peak Express Company. 
 
 The management of the Pony Express was entrusted 
 
 to Ben Finklin, then superintendent of the Pike's Peak 
 
 Express Company. The stock for that part of the 
 
 line west of Salt Lake was bought in California. 
 
 6
 
 82 COLORADO. 
 
 From that city to Fort Bridger, horses were used that 
 were bought from the Mormons and officers at Camp 
 Floyd, often costing three hundred dollars each, as 
 none but the best and fleetest animals would answer. 
 I he remaining stock came from Missouri. The stations 
 were from nine to thirteen and sometimes twenty miles 
 apart. The ponies were swift, strong, and enduring, 
 .unl were usually spurred to their greatest speed, 
 although schedule time was adopted. A fresh pony 
 awaited the couriers arrival at each station, station 
 keepers being forewarned at night by the blowing of 
 the horn. A moments time was sufficient to change 
 the saddle from one pony to another and the messen- 
 ger was again on his long and lonely route. The 
 ponies were never let out to feed, but always stood 
 in readiness for the road. The best of riders were 
 chosen, generally from among scouts and plains men, 
 fearless and brave and familiar with the route. They 
 were very often exposed to attacks from Indians and 
 highwayman, and for their valuable services they 
 received but sixty dollars per month and board. 
 They usually rode from fifty to seventy-five miles 
 before laying off, when another man stood ready to 
 proceed, and thus for eight days the express bag, with 
 its ten or twelve pounds of contents, was kept moving 
 The drivers rode day and night and were not allowed 
 t< i -itop to eat. The average rate of speed for the entire 
 route was over nine miles per hour, but at intervals it 
 increased to twelve or thirteen — this for 2,000 miles 
 day after day and month after month. The news of
 
 COLORADO. 83 
 
 Lincoln's election was carried from St. Joseph to Den- 
 ver, nearly 700 miles, in sixty-nine hours, the last ten 
 miles having been made in thirty-one minutes. 
 
 It was a grand sight, while sitting in a coach on this 
 treeless uninhabited waste, to see a small object on the 
 far off horizon rapidly approach, dash by like a flash of 
 lightning with a word of news or welcome, and as 
 rapidly disappear in the opposite direction ; all seem- 
 ingly done in a moments time; and this occured twice 
 a day, one coming from each direction. Thus the 
 avaunt courrier of the telegraph and iron horse, never 
 slackening his speed by night or day, maintained his 
 adventurous and dangerous way, beating a path for 
 the civilization of the east to follow. The Pony Ex- 
 press was a losing concern, and gave way to the Over- 
 land Telegraph in 1862. 
 
 This exploit however decided the selection of routes 
 for the projected Pacific Railway. An informal meet- 
 ing of two or three prominent men from each leading 
 northern and western state took place at Chicago in 
 1 862, and articles of incorporation were filed for what is 
 now known as the Union Pacific Railway Company. 
 At this meeting Holiday represented Russell. To the 
 latter and to Thos. J. Durant, more than to any other 
 men, the public are indebted for this great national 
 highway. Russell demonstrated the practicability 
 and superior advantages of the route and strongly 
 advocated its selection, and Durant and his associates 
 secured the government's aid and built it. Both these 
 men are now dead and rapidly becoming forgotten.
 
 S.j COLORADO. 
 
 Hut their deeds and achievements .ire lasting monu- 
 ments tn their memories. 
 
 In sixteen years prior to the laying of the first rail 
 of the Union Pacific (which occurred late in 1865,) 
 the population of the great empire of the west, scattered 
 over two thirds of the area of the country, had in- 
 creased from a mere handful to over 700,000 people. 
 Three states and numerous territories rich in mineral 
 wealth had been organized from this grand public 
 domain. This region's development, traffic and travel, 
 its better protection from foreign foes or Indian raids 
 and the governments increasing army and Indian 
 agency transportation demanded cheaper and quicker 
 locomotion and connection. The history of the con- 
 struction of this railroad enterprise is too well known 
 to require repetition here. How the two great compa- 
 nies beginning at the Missouri and the Pacific moved 
 steadily forward to their point of union ; how the 
 world looked on in wonder as month after month the 
 daily rate of construction increased from one to two 
 and even four miles, and finally culminated in seven, 
 seven and a half and ten; how the excitement grew 
 as the great work approached the end, until these rival 
 representatives of the Orient and Occident completed 
 on the 10th day of May 1869, this wonder of the age; 
 how nearly 2,000 miles of raiiway were constructed in 
 three and one-half years, or in seven years less than 
 the required time, are well known facts, parts of the 
 history of the day nnd country, with which all are famil- 
 iar. But the drawbacks attending the inception, con-
 
 COLORADO. 85 
 
 struction and completion of the work few appreciate 
 and many have forgotten. There were difficulties of 
 crossing and penetrating lofty mountains compared 
 with which all eastern elevations are but mounds; 
 from snows, from desert plains devoid of water and 
 gorges and morasses where there was an excess; of cold 
 and heat, of long intervals without timber, and in sup- 
 plying a long line of laborers and stations; of protect- 
 ing the same from Indians through half a continent of 
 unsettled country, and with scarcely a white inhabi- 
 tant on the entire route. The building of the Central 
 Pacific presents the grandest exhibition of financial 
 intrepedity, fa'th and enterprise, of intense energy and 
 magnificent engineering the world has yet afforded. 
 After the long struggles to interest capital and congress 
 in the enterprise had succeded, every kind of supplies 
 had to be shipped by water, a distance of 15,000 miles 
 from New York, via Cape Horn, to San Francisco. 
 Progress on the western end of the road was slow for 
 five years or until the road crossed California and 
 crept up the canons and steeps of the Sierras, and 
 it was not until 1868-9 that those grand ^bursts of 
 speed in railroad building were made that won the 
 admiration of the whole world. 
 
 Princely governmental subsidies were received, and 
 a royal monopoly and corporations sufficently powerful 
 to defeat all competing enteprises have been the result. 
 Yet rapid advancement, great prosperity and enormous 
 advantages have resulted from the building of this 
 grand highway. A region embracing nearly 1,500,000,
 
 86 
 
 CO! OKAIU). 
 
 square miles and until recently almost uninhabited, 
 has been placed in direct communication with the 
 world. Its population has been increased to 1,500,000 
 who are already favored with 4,500 miles of railway 
 .iiul [5,000 miles of telegraph ; and now instead of a 
 long wearj pilgrimage of five months, the entire dis- 
 tance of 3,500 miles from ocean to ocean is traversed in 
 six days, and has been accomplished in eighty-three 
 hours and thirty-nine minutes! This subject has been 
 noticedat length as it was partly the means of fur- 
 nishing Colorado with its three great eastern outlets 
 on the iron rail. 
 
 R.ussell was closely identified with Colorado and 
 its progress, something in regard to his mining and 
 business operations here will not be out of place. 
 In 1860-61 he and John S. Jones transported over 
 thirty stamp mills and other heavy machinery across 
 the plains and up into the mountains for other parties 
 for which they received no pay. The banking house 
 of Turner & Hobbs and the immense outfitting stores 
 known as R. W. Bradford & Co., Miller & Co., and 
 otlxrs in Denver, were all in reality employees of 
 Russell. The government was still owing him over 
 
 cx),ooo for transporting the army to Utah in 1857-8. 
 I le had received therefor the celebrated Floyd accept- 
 ances. The Treasury had no money to pay these 
 with, and some politicians in Washington who had 
 access to the Indian funds substituted those bonds 
 
 er which there was such a scandal) for the accept- 
 ances. The lack of this money and some of his 
 heavy enterprises caused him to fail in business.
 
 COLORADO. 87 
 
 Previous to this time he had sent John Scudder to 
 Central with the Lexington Stamp Mill and in con- 
 nection with important mining enterprises. Through 
 him he disbursed large sums of money in Gilpin 
 county in various operations. Among other generous 
 acts was the sending of a train from Salt Lake loaded 
 with 1,500 sacks of flour to Scudder, who had stated 
 that the article was extremely scarce and sold at from 
 eleven to thirteen dollars per hundred pounds. He 
 ordered this flour sold at seven dollars per sack, or 
 about cost price, and given to those unable to buy. 
 It was stored in Scudder's large ware house built 
 where the Montana mill building now stands. There 
 are men still in the country who walked off free of 
 charge with one sack for their cabin and another to 
 trade off at the stores for coffee, sugar and bacon. 
 Russell bought and paid for every claim to the Hot 
 Sulphur Springs of Middle Park, and began to build 
 the famous Berthoud Pass road leading thereto. 
 
 In 1862 he came to Colorado on a mere visit of 
 pleasure and relaxation, and after being entertained 
 by Governor Gilpin, Amos Steck and others, drove 
 up the Mount Vernon road to Grass Valley Bar, where 
 he had purchased bar claims of Garvin, Sisty, Shinn 
 and others on a previous trip. Men are still living 
 in Idaho Springs who remember seeing the "old gen- 
 tleman," tugging up a steep hill on one end of a sluice 
 box, with John Scudder at the other, and hurrying the 
 construction of the hydraulic works whose ruins are 
 still to be seen in lower Idaho. They were completed
 
 88 
 
 COM >R \i>". 
 
 thai same evening and a "clean up" from an hour's 
 run gave twenty dollars worth of gold, which Russell 
 took and always kept, prizing it more than thousands 
 made in mercantile speculations. 
 
 Clear Creek county was then almost deserted. He 
 kepi "ii as far as Empire. I lis restless spirit could not 
 brook inactivity, and he at once formed and began to 
 carry out plans which eventually caused the employ- 
 ment of from six hundred to a thousand men during 
 the next year, lie set men at work on Silver Moun- 
 tain on the Rosecrans, Tenth Legion and other lodes, 
 and they were soon producing largely. He removed 
 the Tennessee twenty stamp mill from Nevadaville to 
 Empire in mid winter and had it running in six weeks. 
 He may be said to have been the father of Clear 
 Creek county. While mining there and in Gilpin, he 
 was steadily shipping his gold retorts to New York 
 where it would be seen by capitalists with whom he 
 had had dealings when his operations to the tune of 
 millions extended from New York to California. This 
 was in furtherance of his plan of getting eastern capi- 
 tal largely interested in Colorado. 
 
 In 1 863—4, tne results of his enterprise began to be 
 manifest. He organized the Star and Fulton compa- 
 nies, on the Crystal lode above Idaho Springs, which 
 in one year expended #500,000. He formed the Em- 
 pire, Hay State, Knickerbocker and other companies 
 on mines at Empire, each started with a large working 
 capital. The miners owning these properties were 
 paid through Russell large prices therefor. Over forty
 
 COLORADO. 89 
 
 parties received from one to twenty thousand dollars 
 each, and there is scarcely an old resident of that 
 county who could not testify to his liberality and 
 noble disposition. During the time of heavy sales 
 in Gilpin county in 1863-4 Russell took a leading part 
 in the organization of such famous companies as the 
 Fisk, Gunnell, Gunnell Gold and Central, the Bur- 
 roughs, the New York and many others where his 
 magic name was used to influence prominent men to 
 become interested. 
 
 Russell died in August 1872 or 73 at the home of 
 his son John W. Russell, a banker of Palmyra, Mo., 
 and prominent men from all parts of the State atten- 
 ded his funeral. He was a man of wonderful execu- 
 tive ability, of large heart, great charity, and unboun- 
 ded confidence in the entire human family. He was 
 a warm supporter of Douglas, and spent large sums 
 of money to aid in his election to the presidency. 
 Jefferson Davis tendered him the position of Secretary 
 of the Treasury for the Confederacy, just before the 
 beginning of the war, but he declined, as he had ever 
 opposed secession. 
 
 He had perfected plans, which had he lived, would 
 have benefitted certain Colorado mining districts to a 
 greater degree in five years than will now be the result 
 in a much longer period. He was engaged in reorgan- 
 izing the companies that he formed long ago, for the 
 purpose of reopening a large number of idle mines. 
 The consummation of one part of the scheme would 
 have consolidated the eleven corporations owning 
 on the Gunnell, so that the entire lode would now 
 have been in full operation.
 
 CM A.PTER X. 
 
 HIS rOR\ OF ( I I \i< CREEK COUNTY. 
 Plaoer and Bar Mining />/<i/i<> and Empire— Russell'* 
 
 Opt rations in ami for tin ( 'on nt/l —Gold Lode Mining— 
 
 How si/, i r was Discovt r< <l iii iln Ri'h, st Silver District 
 iii tin World -Coley' 8 Solitary Tramps— McLella ml 
 Vigorous Prosp< '■ting Sale* of Property —Su< cesses and 
 Failures in Reducing Oris -Present Prosperity — 
 $2,000,000 />< r Annum. 
 
 The first discoveries of gold within the limits of 
 Clear Creek county, have already been noted. This 
 narrative of succeeding events is largely condensed 
 from T. J. Campbell's historical sketch of Clear Creek 
 county. 
 
 In i860 some three or four hundred people were 
 congregated at, or near, Idaho Springs and Spanish 
 and Payne's Bars, engaged in gulch and 'bar mining. 
 The chief work was done not far from where the 
 Whale mill now stands. There was only one log 
 cabin in Idaho, where Sam. Hunter sold flour, bacon, 
 whiskey, and other luxuries. The currency, as else- 
 where, was gold dust, usually carried in a buckskin 
 sack or small glass bottle, and the price of each pur- 
 chase was weighed out at the rate of one dollar for 
 each pennyweight of gold. The gold in this dis- 
 
 trict was unusually good, having a coin value of from 
 $\ 8 to 519 per ounce.
 
 COLORADO. 91 
 
 The town of Idaho Springs was laid out by Messrs. 
 Sam. D. Hunter, Wm. E. Sisty, Wm. L. Campbell, 
 and Wm. Spruance. The original Beebee house was 
 built in the winter of 1 860-6 1. For a time Mike 
 Dougherty and Sam. Hunter were the most successful 
 miners. Afterwards new mining districts were formed, 
 governed by the usual miners' laws, until they were 
 thirty in number. Very rich claims were worked on 
 Spanish Bar, and at intervals for several miles below 
 Idaho Springs. On the latter were J. G. Mahany, S. 
 C. Bennett, and the Charles and Whitford brothers. 
 
 In the meantime gold had been discovered at Empire 
 some thirteen miles above Idaho Springs and a few 
 miles below Berthoud's Pass over the Snowy Range. 
 The Patch Diggings for a time were the richest in 
 the country. George Merrill was the first man there, 
 arriving in June, i860. But little gold was obtained 
 however, until 1862, when Dr. Carlton, Charles Mar- 
 tin & Co., worked a large force, obtaining fifty dollars 
 per day to the man and took out $75,000 during the 
 season. Times were lively then. 
 
 The first coach arrived at Empire in 1861, Russell 
 having extended his plains stage lines into the moun- 
 tains. Wm. Gilpin, the newly appointed governor of 
 Colorado, and B. D. Williams, Delegate to Congress, 
 under the Provisional Government, were among the 
 passengers and everywhere received a cordial welcome. 
 Mr. Charles R. Fish, now of the Miners National 
 Bank, of Georgetown, was the first preacher and the 
 first Methodist, at Empire.
 
 92 COLORADO. 
 
 I S. Jones mined here quite extensively, and after- 
 wards realized Si 10,000 from the sale of his property 
 in New \ oik, which was effected through Russell. 
 Like most other Colorado men who sold mines, he 
 did not keep his money long. VVm. H. Russell, the 
 Leader of the firm of Russell, Jones & Co., and of 
 many great enterprises, conducted extensive mining 
 operations at Empire, <md had a stamp mill there. 
 1 te took out $66,000 from Silver Mountain, in 1863. 
 He and John Scudder were bar mining extensively 
 below Idaho Springs, at Grass Valley, in 1862-63. 
 John T. Harris, John M. Dumont, S. F. Nuckolls, 
 afterwards Congressman from Wyoming, and Nichols 
 ?nd Hill, anchored at the site of Georgetown, when 
 trout were plenty. They put up a quartz mill and 
 actually took out $2,500 from the Burrell and other 
 lodes. But it was not a gold district, and as they 
 were not looking for silver, and did not dream of 
 its existence there, they escaped being millionaires for 
 the time being. 
 
 During those years the richest portion of the gulches 
 had been "worked out" and this section was not con- 
 sidered a promising one. In the meantime William 
 H. Russell was quietly maturing a plan for interesting 
 eastern capitalists in the development of the lode 
 mines. He shipped his gold dust and retort regularly 
 to New York City. He induced a leading man of 
 the Philadelphia Mint to come out and examine the 
 gold bearing quartz and copper pyrites, of the Empire 
 mountains. The report that followed was such as to
 
 COLORADO. 93 
 
 induce eastern people, who had more greenbacks than 
 they knew what to do with, to invest, and ten high 
 toned mining companies were organized on Empire 
 property. Some of them paid salaries alone, amount- 
 ing to $35,000 per annum, and of course this eventu- 
 ally broke them up in business. This was in the 
 years 1863-4-5. Georgetown also secured five com- 
 panies which put up extensive mills before the green- 
 back supply gave out. But the latter not being a 
 gold region, of course returned them but little. Clear 
 Creek county had thus experienced two seasons of 
 mining prosperity, one of gulch mining followed by 
 a period of activity in lode mining, when another 
 interim of dullness ensued. 
 
 A sample of the processes which pretentious pro- 
 fessors gull eastern capitalists and Colorado mining 
 investors with, is afforded in that of a scientific 
 gent who operated for a company at Empire until he 
 succeeded in breaking it up. "He had a concern 
 something like a big ice cream freezer. The ore, after 
 being pulverized, was forced by hydraulic pressure 
 up through a syphon at the bottom of the machine 
 and passed out at the top. It worked first rate but 
 did not save any gold and required a tank of quick- 
 silver (worth $200) every fifteen minutes." Ed. Gui- 
 bar and other Empire miners afterwards made big 
 wages panning out quicksilver in the gulch below 
 that mill. The members of the company attributed 
 their losses to Colorado mines, when it was no fault 
 of the mines, but their own foolishness and extrava-
 
 ,,.j COLORADO. 
 
 gance and their pet process that used up their grcen- 
 
 backs. 
 
 It is now a well-known fact that the silver deposits of 
 Colorado arc far more extensive and therefore com- 
 bine more wealth than those of gold. There are ten 
 silver veins where there is one of gold, and although 
 silver mining did not fairly begin until 1870 and is 
 still in its infancy, sixty per cent, of Colorado's bull- 
 ion product in the years 1874-5 was silver. In fact 
 there appears to be no limit to the argentiferous wealth 
 of this region. Year after year new districts of untold 
 wealth are discovered, and, notwithstanding the almost 
 inaccessable localities of many of them, they are 
 being rapidly developed. And yet for many years 
 the prospector, or hunter, ignorant of the character 
 of the riches they were so carelessly passing over, 
 crossed and re-crossed the veins which have since 
 added so largely to the world's and the nation's 
 wealth, without knowing their true value. 
 
 This was the case at Georgetown and vicinity, and 
 for years the district that ranks in production second 
 only to that of Washoe ( with its great Comstock 
 vein), was given the cold shoulder by the eager hunt- 
 ers after gold. The Whale mine, at Spanish Bar, was 
 worked for gold, when seventy-five per cent, of its 
 valuable contents was silver, that was washed down 
 the stream and to irretrievable waste. The stamp 
 mill process would not save silver. The company 
 that purchased this mine built an enormous building 
 of brick, three hundred feet in length and filled it with
 
 COLORADO. 95 
 
 the costly machinery necessary for some pet process 
 of which a multitude of Bartola pans formed a part. 
 This was in the costly times of 1864-5, an d the out- 
 lay was $225,000. The Whale mill was an utter fail- 
 ure and stood a monument of folly until its owners 
 displaced its machinery in 1872, for the Swansea 
 Smelting process. The first business representatives 
 of this company, not content with the eastern agent's 
 usual accompaniments, of a fast horse, high topped 
 boots, etc., wore knee breeches, and were wont to 
 astonish and disgust the miner and prospector with 
 the gorgeous and unique character of their apparel 
 The Seaton, and other mines were also worked for 
 gold at first, and paid for a time, and were then 
 abandoned until the dawn of the silver era. 
 
 At the close of i860 the free gold in the rich and 
 famous Georgia Gulch, a tributary of the Blue, on the 
 the Pacific slope of the "Rockies," was nearly exhaus- 
 ted. Soon after, the war of the Rebellion opened. 
 These causes induced the gulch miners to scatter 
 to other localities. Some went to their Southern 
 homes and entered the Rebel army, and others joined 
 the Union regiments recruited in Colorado. Those 
 who cared more for gold than glory betook them- 
 selves to the western wilderness (then almost unbroken 
 from Colorado to British Columbia), or drifted about 
 the Rocky Mountains wherever the cry of good dig- 
 gings was sounded. 
 
 About this time two miners while hunting for bear 
 and other game near the site of Saint Johns, in Sum-
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 nut county, found themselves short of lead. When 
 about to return to the settlements they camped upon 
 the out croppings of a strong galena vein, and from 
 the flinty ore made bullets l>y burning it on a log heap. 
 They soon, however, found that these bullets were 
 spoiling their rifles. Soon after they went out to the 
 state of Nevada, and after seeing the silver veins of 
 that section, concluded that their bullets, made in the 
 mountains of Colorado, had come from a silver lode. 
 They wrote to a friend of theirs at Empire, named 
 Coly, describing the locality and advising him to go 
 there and look for silver lodes. 
 
 Coly did not go until the summer of 1863, but kept 
 the secret in the meantime. At last he slipped away, 
 and went and returned by an indirect route. The 
 Comstock lode, out in Nevada, was then becoming 
 the wonder of the world, and Coly saw no reason 
 why another Comstock might not be found in his own 
 section. He made several of these solitary trips and 
 his neighbors began to wonder what was the matter 
 with the old man. The spot was twenty-five miles 
 distant and beyond ragged and lofty ranges of moun- 
 tains that were impassable from snow six months of 
 the year. He become satisfied that he had a silver 
 vein but had the mournful consolation of knowing that 
 if the ore was one half silver, it could not be made 
 to return a revenue in that mountain waste until 
 immigration and capital should establish costly mills 
 for extracting the precious metal. 
 
 Silver, or even gold, lodes do not yield up their
 
 COLORADO. 97 
 
 riches as readily as creeks or placers. Before the 
 advent of mills or ore buyers, and the construction of 
 roads or trails, the prospector's only chance for imme- 
 diate wealth is in a sale. Without that his fortune 
 lies entirely in the future or in his own imagination. 
 
 In the fall of 1864. Gov. Steele, J. Hough and Mr. 
 Pine, having some faith in the existence of silver, and 
 perhaps, wanting to find out where Coly was going, 
 left Empire, and after camping at Georgetown started 
 up the south fork of the creek. After killing an elk, 
 and seeing a dozen more far up the mountain side, 
 Hough started after them alone. He did not get a 
 shot, but he found the Belmont lode. He carried a 
 pocket full of ore to his companions and they returned 
 with him to the spot. A coffee pot full of the rock 
 was taken to Prof. Frank Dibbin, at Central, and he 
 pronounced it silver ore containing from 300 to 500 
 ounces of silver per ton, or worth from four hundred 
 to six hundred dollars. They had indeed found silver. 
 
 The few who happened to know of the affair, asserted 
 that our pioneers had obtained the ore from the Corn- 
 stock, and were attempting to organize a "big hoax," 
 with the claim that silver had been found in Colorado. 
 It will be remembered that at this time a great many 
 worthless pieces of Colorado property, said to be gold 
 bearing, had been palmed off on an unsuspecting 4 set 
 of speculators at the east, and that dodge having 
 played out, some men thought the next scheme 
 might be in silver. 
 
 In 1865 when it became generally known thatgen- 
 
 7
 
 <)S COLORADO. 
 
 nine silver ore had been found near Georgetown, 
 men started there from all quarters, and eight or nine 
 hundred people were soon collected at Georgetown — 
 for the prospector is always ready to leave a good thing 
 for an uncertainty in some remote locality. 'Tis dis- 
 tance lends enchantment to the view." The new town 
 was built of bark and brush shanties, the only log 
 cabin serving as a grocery. The place could be 
 reached only with pack animals, no roads having yet 
 been built. John Turck, Caleb S. Stowell, E. S. 
 Streeter, and the Charles and Whitford brothers, were 
 there. On the crest of McClelland mountain, which 
 is bare of vegetation, the veins are exposed so that a 
 good climber could have discovered about all there 
 was to be found, in a few days. 
 
 This so disgusted the old regular gold prospectors, 
 who had not been very fortunate here, that they left 
 in disgust. Dick Irwin, Jack Baker, and Fletch. 
 Kelso, three famous prospectors, passed over the 
 McClelland mountain down into the depths of a canon 
 and on to the giant peaks beyond. They named these 
 and the streams near them, after themselves. Before 
 them was a smooth round mountain of immense size 
 and this has since been known as Baker, or Kelso. 
 Further on, two snow-capped peaks ( in reality one 
 mountain), seemed to pierce the very clouds. The 
 sharp conical one, which appeared from their stand- 
 point to be the highest, was called Irwin's. It still 
 bears that name among Coloradans, notwithstanding 
 the recent attempt of a Harvard professor to appro-
 
 
 WilJlll
 
 COLORADO. 99 
 
 priate the honor. Gray's Peaks, however, is a title 
 often applied to both points of this grand old moun- 
 tain. 
 
 These men found a silver vein of great size which 
 they named the Baker. It was afterwards sold to a 
 party of Philadelphia Quakers for a large sum of 
 money, and the mill and town of Bakerville was the 
 result. Frank F. Brune, Dr. A. M. Noxon and R. 
 Davis received money from this sale, the pile being 
 divided among the six, in sums of from ten to twenty- 
 five thousand dollars each, and the operators of the 
 sale also came in for a share. 
 
 Anderson Orr left Argentine and went over on to 
 Sherman mountain, and discovered the Elijah Hise, 
 Ben. Harden, James Guthrie, and other lodes. M. P. 
 Parker and John Cree located the Henry Ward 
 Beecher, New Boston, and other veins, on Democrat 
 mountain. By September, 1865, this was known to be 
 a great silver district, but how to extract the silver 
 from the ore was the mystery. There were no silver 
 miners there. Consequently no money was realized 
 that season. J. Oscar Stewart put up a small old 
 fashioned lead furnace in December, and obtained a 
 small quantity of silver-lead bullion. 
 
 In 1867, T. J. Campbell and Dr. Darnell found the 
 Anglo Saxon lode, and evidently "struck it" in the 
 right place, for an enormously rich pocket was shown 
 from the beginning. The ore assayed over $28,000 
 per ton, some of it being composed of seventy per 
 cent, of the precious metal. Lumps were found so
 
 100 COLORADO. 
 
 rich that the pure silver could be cut therefrom with 
 .i knife. It created a great excitement and was pro- 
 aounced the "biggest tiling in the mountains." Tt was 
 sold, and each of the discoverers received a pile of 
 greenbacks containing $10,000, and John T. Harris, 
 who had handled the property, received a good round 
 sum beside. This, and the Baker, constituted the first 
 important sales. In 1870, Clark and Crow sold the 
 Terrible mine, in England, for ,£100,000. Its ore was 
 unusually rich. Other investments were made after- 
 wards. 
 
 From 1866 to 1873, many attempts were made to 
 treat these silver ores, and with varying success. 
 Garrott, Martine & Co., put up a cylinder in 1866, 
 which was very successful. That fall Joseph Watson 
 started a Pennsylvania reverbatory furnace to test the 
 ores of the Baker mine. G. W. Hall built a sampling 
 mill in 1867. Caleb S. Stowell had a small lead fur- 
 nace. The Washington Company changed their gold 
 mill into one intended for silver ores, but it failed. 
 This company, in 1870, successfully used the Krom 
 Separator. John T. Harris also had a small furnace. 
 J. O. Stewart put up a small reverbatory smelting 
 furnace in 1867, afterwards changed to a chlorodizing 
 and amalgamating concern. In eighteen months he 
 turned out silver to the value of $108,000. These 
 works finally grew into those of the Stewart Silver 
 Reducing Company, which produced over $400,000 
 in 1874. This company's great mill was burned in 
 January, 1872, with a loss of $100,000, and its sue-
 
 COLORADO. IOI 
 
 cessor in December, 1875, with a loss of $60,000 above 
 the insurance. Another mill has since replaced it. 
 
 In the summer of 1867, Joseph Watson built the 
 Bruckner Cylinder mill, at Bakerville, at an outlay of 
 $150,000. The company afterwards failed and the 
 mill was destroyed by fire. Watson also built a large 
 smelting mill at Brownville and made many large 
 silver buttons therein, one of which weighed seven 
 hundred pounds, worth $11,000. A Missouri blast 
 furnace was started by Prof. Bowman, a colored man, 
 and a good prospector, who owned several lodes. He 
 organized a company among people of his own race, 
 and a son of Fred. Douglas was in the party. Several 
 other ore treating enterprises failed, and as with all 
 new silver districts progress and advancement were 
 slow. Roasting and amalgamating were successful, 
 but too expensive, costing $100 per ton of ore, instead 
 of one half or one third that sum, as at the present 
 time. 
 
 In 1872 Charles A. Martine and Gen. F. J. Marshall 
 conceived the idea of organizing an ore market, and 
 having perfected arrangements with eastern capitalists 
 and works, they began to purchase ores. This was the 
 beginning of legitimate business in this silver district. 
 It brought the mill man in direct contact with intelli- 
 gent competition. It caused a reduction in the price 
 of treating ore, and placed the miner in an independ- 
 ent position. It aided to secure the confidence of 
 people abroad, and gave a permanent character to 
 silver mining in Colorado. Other reducing works at
 
 [02 COLORADO. 
 
 the east and in Colorado afterwards established ore 
 buying agencies and sampling works at Georgetown, 
 
 and now ore is sold to eastern and to Colorado works 
 outside the county to the amount of ;Si, 500,000 per 
 annum. l'he home silver reducing works have also 
 been vastly improved, and larger and better ones have 
 been constructed — and the most skillful and best 
 educated labor is employed. 
 
 In this same year (1872), George Teal and Kdward 
 Eddy, introduced the wet system of concentration 
 and dressing on ores from the Terrible mine. Here 
 was another grand stride forward in the right direc- 
 tion for successful mining. This process and that of 
 dry concentration, are now two of the most important 
 elements of success at Georgetown, for they render 
 the immense quantities of low grade ore available. 
 The extension of the Colorado Central Railway, soon 
 after, to the lower end of the county, reduced the 
 price of freights and increased the speed and conven- 
 ience of travel. The steady development, vast num- 
 ber and richness of the lodes, aided by improved and 
 cheaper milling, and a high priced ore market and 
 reduced expenses, brought about a yield of over 
 S2,ooo,ooo in each of the years 1874-5. This was 
 done, notwithstanding the fact that most of the larger 
 and richer mines were partially closed by bitter con- 
 tests and litigation. With the consolidation of con- 
 tested properties and further development the yield of 
 the Georgetown silver mines can be increased many 
 fold.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 POLITICAL AND GENERAL HISTORY. 
 
 Attempt to secure Territorial and State Governments — 
 Success of the forme? — Provisional Government— The 
 Territory of Colorado— Early Elections — First Federal 
 Officials — Arrival of Governor Gilpin— Colorado 1 s War 
 Quota— The Gold Mining excitement at the East — The 
 era of ready sales — Causes of Mining losses — The Indian 
 Wat — Territorial Officers and Legislators. 
 
 Political matters attracted the attention of the 
 people of Colorado from the beginning, and from that 
 day to this, there has never been any lack of patriotic 
 devotion shown in serving the public in official posi- 
 tions. Among the pioneers were a large number of 
 men from Nebraska, where politicians were said to 
 have had their eye-teeth cut sooner than elsewhere. 
 These men certainly equaled, if they did not better 
 their instruction, for they have managed to keep top of 
 the political heap, or somewhere near it, during much 
 of their residence in Colorado. However, there were 
 numerous representatives of other states that have 
 shown remarkable brilliancy in the wire pulling line. 
 
 The pioneers in this unknown region, six hundred 
 miles from anywhere, were determined to have a gov- 
 ernment of their own instead of remaining vassals of 
 far away and indifferent rulers. Accordingly steps 
 were taken to form a Territory and State, to which the 
 names Jefferson, Cibola — the Spanish for buffalo — 
 and Colorado were all proposed.
 
 It 'j COLORADO. 
 
 A convention was called to meet at Auraria on the 
 i ;ih day of April, [859, for the purpose of forming 
 .1 state government The object of this call was so 
 far carried out as to secure the attendance of fifty 
 delegates, when an adjournment was effected, after 
 providing for a fuller convention in August of that 
 year. At that time one hundred and sixty-seven del- 
 tes assembled and framed a state constitution. In 
 case this constitution was rejected by the people, it 
 was provided that an election should be held in Octo- 
 ber to choose a Delegate to Congress. The latter 
 move was to secure a separation from Kansas and the 
 establishment of a territory under the name of Jeffer- 
 son. The state constitution was defeated, the vote 
 standing 2,007 against, to 649 for. 
 
 At the election for Delegate to Congress, at which 
 B. 1). Williams triumphed over all competitors, there 
 was said to have been terrible ballot box stuffing. 
 Wilbur F. Stone, gives the following in regard to the 
 manner of conducting this election in the would-be 
 territory of Jefferson: 
 
 "As Fountain City was the only settlement south 
 of "the divide," it must needs be looked after, and so 
 Hickory Rogers was sent down from Denver to see 
 that the right of suffrage was properly exercised. Si 
 Smith had been previously appointed by the governor 
 of Kansas a justice of the peace, being therefore the 
 first jurist that sat on the bench in the Arkansas val- 
 ley, and he administered some of his oaths to the 
 election judges, who proceeded to open the polls and
 
 COLORADO. I05 
 
 receive the votes of the settlement, amounting to 
 about seventy-five, all for the Jefferson government. 
 The returns were duly certified and sworn to and 
 delivered to Hickory to take to Denver, which at that 
 early day assumed to "hog in" the capitol. The first 
 night out, old Hickory sat down and deliberately 
 added 1,150 names to the poll book. As the returns 
 were properly sworn to there was no going back by 
 the canvassing board on the population of Fountain 
 City, and thus early in the history of the now proud 
 Centennial State, did the honest American voter of the 
 Arkansas valley vindicate the glorious boon of the 
 ballot box." 
 
 On the same day members for another state conven- 
 tion and officers for the county established by Kan- 
 sas were chosen. Eighty-seven delegates composed 
 this convention which framed an organic act, and 
 appointed legislative districts and nominated a full state 
 ticket which was elected the same month. R. W. 
 Steele, was chosen Governor and L. W. Bliss, Secre- 
 tary, and the legislature officered by James A. Gray 
 as Speaker, and Eli Carter as President of the Coun- 
 cil, was convened November 7th. After organizing 
 nine counties, passing some general laws and appoint- 
 ing probate or county judges, the legislature adjourned 
 till January 23d, i860. Previous to November 1859, 
 the people had governed themselves by laws and 
 courts of their own making, in the various individual 
 settlements and mining districts. 
 
 Williams was successful in securing the passage of
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 a bill through Congress establishing a territory of the 
 same dimensions as that of the present state, and the 
 name of Colorado was substituted for Jefferson. Por- 
 tion^ of Kansas, Nebraska and Utah, went to makeup 
 the new domain— large enough for an empire. Kan- 
 sas politicians were opposed to including the gold 
 region In their state, and the latter did not care about 
 forming a part of a commonwealth whose industries 
 wrn- of so diverse a character. 
 
 The first Federal officers of Colorado, appointed 
 immediately after the establishment of the territory, 
 February 26th, 1861, were as follows: 
 
 Wm. Gilpin, Governor; L. L. Weld, Secretary; B. 
 F. Hall, Chief Justice; Charles L. Armor and S. N. 
 Pettis, Associate Justices of Supreme court; C. Town- 
 send, Marshal; W. L. Stoughton, Attorney General; 
 F. M. Case, Surveyor General. 
 
 Governor Gilpin, arrived at Denver May 29th, 1861, 
 and had a census taken of the territory during the fol- 
 lowing summer. It showed a population of 25,329, 
 including 20,798 white males, 4,484 white females, 
 and 89 negroes. 
 
 In 1 86 1, H. P. Bennet was elected Delegate to Con- 
 gress, being the first Coloradan allowed a seat in that 
 body. 
 
 At the opening of the war of the rebellion a few 
 men went south, but the population was almost entirely 
 loyal to the Union. In 1861, Colorado furnished a 
 regiment of infantry, commanded by Col. John P. 
 Slaugh. It was eventually tiansformed into cavalry.
 
 COLORADO. I07 
 
 It did good service in New Mexico in driving back the 
 Texan invasion of that territory early in 1862, and was 
 a most effective body of men. In 1862, a second reg- 
 iment of volunteers was organized, commanded by 
 Col. James H. Ford, and another was raised in the 
 following year which was consolidated with the Sec- 
 ond. This force was mounted and did some excellent 
 fighting in Missouri in 1864. 
 
 In May, 1862, a change was made in the federal 
 territorial officers, the new appointees being as follows: 
 Governor, John Evans; Secretary, Samuel H. Elbert; 
 U. S. Marshal, A. C. Hunt; Samuel E. Browne, suc- 
 ceeded Attorney General Dalliba, and John Pierce, 
 soon afterwards became Surveyor General. 
 
 In September, 1862, another election was held for 
 Delegate to Congress, which resulted in the re-elec- 
 tion of Bennet. The vote stood as follows: H. P. 
 Bennet, conservative, 3,655; Wm Gilpin, republican, 
 2,312; J. M. Francisco, democrat, 2,754. 
 
 From this time forward the record of the mines 
 and mining districts will be given briefly; but extended 
 details of the same, and of inivdidual successes and 
 reverses, will be found in succeding chapters, devoted 
 more especially to the mines. 
 
 Early in 1862 large numbers of miners from the 
 failing gulches or refractory gold veins, sought new 
 scenes and localities. Many went to the new dig- 
 gings comprised in what is now Idaho and Montana 
 territories. Columbus Nuckolls led a large expedi- 
 tion from Central and Denver, to the far away district
 
 [08 COLORADO. 
 
 ol' Bannock, near the head waters of the south fork of 
 the Columbia. This party endured great sufferings, 
 and came near perishing from hostile Indians and want 
 of food and water. The expedition was unsuccessful 
 and hut few of its members found their way back to 
 Colorado. 
 
 The large quantities of Colorado gold that had been 
 received at the east gradually created an interest 
 among eastern men in regard to the mines of this 
 region. The war had finally inaugurated a specu- 
 lative era. Men became rich with a rapidity and ease 
 they had never dreamed of, and this increased the fever 
 of speculation. In 1863, eastern men began to invest 
 in Colorado mines. About this time a number of bril- 
 liant operators had congregated about the New York 
 Mining Stock Board. Some of them had the money 
 and all had the nerve to carry forward undertakings 
 of any magnitude. Their like was never seen before 
 and is not likely to be witnessed again on the Atlantic 
 sea board as far as mining operations are concerned. 
 They had their brokers and they interested their 
 moneyed friends. Wra. H. Russell and others put some 
 really valuable pieces of property on the market. The 
 bait was taken most readily. Warren Husseyandhis 
 associates then began to dispose of large numbers 
 of mines. Everybody wanted some stock, or was 
 crazy to possess a gold mine, and some properties 
 were sold at the rate of a thousand dollars a foot. It 
 was the age of greenbacks. 
 
 The year 1864, was the darkest of the rebellion and
 
 COLORADO. IO9 
 
 gold ranged from two hundred to two-ninety. Many 
 were afraid greenbacks would become worthless and 
 were anxious to invest them in anything that gave 
 evidence of greater permanency or of good profits. 
 The mines of Colorado had in many cases been yield- 
 ing enormously, and here seemed the golden oppor- 
 tunity for everyone to get rich. Our band of Wall 
 Street operators, formed stock companies until nearly 
 two hundred had been organized. Many excellentas 
 well as poor mines were sold. In a manner known 
 to themselves, the operators gave to these stocks ficti- 
 tious values, and then palmed them off upon an unsus- 
 picious public on a fearfully inflated scale. 
 
 Capitalists of great cities of the east should not 
 universally condemn Colorado mines or miners. They 
 were swindled, in most cases, by their eastern opera- 
 tors, by the men who managed the companies, by 
 their agents, or by sending fools to waste money in 
 buying property where there were no mines, and in 
 building worthless mills and reducing works from 
 which no gold could be saved. Mining investments 
 and mining operations must be conducted like those 
 of any other business. As carried on by those east- 
 ern parties in 1863-5, they proved what most rail- 
 road investments do to the mass of stockholders — 
 a losing venture in two cases out of three, if not nine 
 out of ten. At last the bubble burst, the stocks in 
 many cases became worthless, and the losers have 
 considered Colorado a fraud ever since. And yet the 
 same men may have lost many times as much in
 
 [10 COLORADO. 
 
 other speculations, or in mercantile transactions, with- 
 out condemning those lines of business as irredeem- 
 ably worthless. 
 
 So man)- of those eastern investors seemed bent on 
 squandering their money in the most useless manner 
 possible, and in everyway except in legitimate mining 
 (in case their own company officers in New York did 
 not swindle them), that they should certainly blame 
 no one but themselves. In many cases, if they had 
 kept their worthless relatives, or friends, at home, and 
 had entrusted operations to competent miners, the 
 results would have been large profits instead of heavy 
 losses. There were a dozen bogus processes intro- 
 duced in this country at one time and another, each 
 entailing a loss of from ten thousand to two hundred 
 thousand dollars on the men who "backed" the enter- 
 prises. And so the mining camps came to wear a 
 discouraging appearance in the years 1865-6. 
 
 In the spring of 1864 a grand Indian war broke 
 out upon the plains, and for a time communication 
 was almost stopped between Colorado and the states. 
 Coaches were captured, and the passengers killed and 
 horribly mutilated. Other coaches were obliged to 
 fight their way through or back from whence they 
 came. It was the same with wagon trains, of which 
 an immense number were engaged in conveying sup- 
 plies and machinery to the mines for the newly organ- 
 ized companies. These were often abandoned on 
 account of the risk and danger (and impossibility) 
 of proceeding. Scattering farm houses and numerous
 
 COLORADO. Ill 
 
 stage stations were burned by the Indians and the 
 inmates slaughtered. Troops were ordered west to 
 protect the routes of travel, and a regiment of twelve 
 hundred men was raised in Colorado, commanded by- 
 Col. J. M. Chivington. This command attacked and 
 nearly exterminated a band of some seven hundred 
 Cheyennes, which had a salutary effect on that tribe 
 and averted the death of many a white family. There 
 is but one way to deal with unfriendly savages and 
 the western man only fully appreciates that fact. 
 
 The Indian difficulties continued at intervals until 
 the completion of the Kansas Pacific Railway, in 1870, 
 although the building of the Union Pacific had a 
 depressing effect upon their leading industry — the 
 collection of scalps. Like the buffalo, the Indian 
 cannot do otherwise than retire before the advance of 
 the iron rail, the telegraphic wire and the general 
 accompaniments of civilization. 
 
 Traveling across the plains, especially to members 
 of the gentler sex, was anything but pleasant in the 
 days of staging. Every one was obliged to carry 
 arms, and was expected to fight to the death, knowing 
 a worse fate awaited them in case of capture. Six 
 days and nights were required to cross this seven 
 hundred miles of plain and desert, with no stoppages, 
 save at solitary stations for meals or changing horses. 
 Escorts of soldiers were finally furnished the coaches 
 when a half dozen or a dozen men were expected to 
 do battle with many hundred Indians, with certain 
 destruction before them in case of the death or disa- 
 bling of the horses.
 
 I l 2 COLORADO. 
 
 The fust Unit. .rial legislature was elected August 
 lotli, t86l, and assembled at Denver, September 9th, 
 when Chief Justice B. F. Hall administered the oath of 
 office. The records of some of these earlier legisla- 
 tures were kept so badly that it is impossible to ascer- 
 tain the entire list of those who were elected, but the 
 names of all who appeared on the books, either on a 
 vote or in any other manner, will be found here. 
 
 E. A. Arnold was chosen President of the Council, 
 or upper House, and the Councilmen were as follows: 
 
 H. J. Graham, Amos Steck, C. W. Mather, H. F. 
 Parker, A. N. Colby, S. M. Robbins, E. A. Arnold, J. 
 M. Francisco, R. B. Willis. 
 
 The House included the following members: 
 
 C. F. Holly, Speaker; E. S. Wilhite, E. Scudder, 
 W. A. Rankin, George M. Chilcott, J. B. Chaffee, J. 
 H. Noteware, Daniel Witter, George F. Crocker, D. 
 Steele, Barela, V. Garcia, Hall. 
 
 O. A. Whittemore contested Hall's seat, and N. J. 
 Bond, Witter's. 
 
 The territory was divided into nine counties with 
 the same official positions that are held to-day. A 
 list of the members of the various legislatures of Col- 
 rado. will be found at the close of this volume.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 HISTORICAL AND COMMONPLACE NOTES. 
 
 Early Times on the Border — The Pioneers — A word about 
 those who helped to make History — The early comers 
 and first Officials — The era of good feeling — Disasters 
 of Fire and Flood — Progress and Prosperity. 
 
 •Of those who came to Colorado in 1859 ' n search 
 of gold, but few remain to-day. Their comrades are 
 scattered from one end of the land to the other, and a 
 majority have found their last resting place in that 
 undiscovered country where gold hunting is unknown. 
 These pioneers very naturally take especial pride in 
 having formed the vanguard in the settlement of the 
 Rocky Mountain region, and the title " Fifty-niner," 
 is regarded by them as a most honorable one. Of 
 those who arrived in i860, a large number are still 
 to be found in all parts of the state. They, as well 
 as their predecessors, comprise a considerable propor- 
 tion of the prominent and wealthy men of the state. 
 To perpetuate the pleasant memories of the olden 
 times — of those days of adventure, hardship, peril and 
 good fortune — the "Society of Pioneers" has recently 
 been organized in Denver, composed of men who 
 came here in 1858-59 and '60. 
 
 A majority of those who were in Colorado in the 
 earlier days, remained but a few weeks or months, or 
 at most, one or two years. Some returned to their
 
 114 COLORAtX). 
 
 homes, while others still continue their wanderings. 
 Thousands drifted to the golden placers of Montana 
 and Idaho. Others, who made fortunes in Colorado 
 mines, or by sales of mining property in 1863-4-5, 
 returned to the east to reside. Most of them lost all 
 they had made, in subsequent mining or speculative 
 operations, or in business at the east. Old residents 
 who left us ten or fifteen years ago, have been return- 
 ing, one after another, satisfied that Colorado is the 
 best country in the world for rich or poor. 
 
 Of those who acquired fortunes suddenly in the 
 earlier years, either by mining or selling mines, but few 
 are wealthy to-day. Their money has slipped through 
 their fingers almost as rapidly as it slipped into them. 
 But fjw localities in the world have seen such sudden 
 changes of fortune as this. A man may be poor 
 to-day and rich to-morrow. It is the excitement and 
 the hope of winning the smiles of the fickle goddess 
 that gives a Coloradan almost unbounded confidence 
 in his destiny. There is an abiding faith in the pros- 
 pector and miner that the royal road to fortune lies 
 open to every man if he will but find it. 
 
 The following list embraces most of the fifty-niners 
 now in or near Gilpin county: E. W. Henderson, A. 
 H. Owens, James D. Wood, L. C. Miley, L. M. Freas, 
 
 B. O. Russell, D. G. Wilson, Win. Z. Cozzens, Chase 
 Withrow, O. T. Sparks, John W. Ratliff, Henry P. 
 Cowenhoven, J. M. Wood, Thos. F. Hardesty, and C. 
 
 C. Post. D. C. Collier and John Scudder, arrived in 
 Denver in 1858.
 
 COLORADO. I I 5 
 
 Among those who came in i860 are Bela S. Buell, 
 J. M. Marshall, Frank Hall, the Briggs brothers, J. 
 E. Scobey, L. W. Chase, Joseph Holman, Truman 
 Whitcomb, Wm. M. Roworth, J. B. Chaffee, Eben. 
 Smith, H. W. Lake, A. S. Bennett, John Gray, M. H. 
 Root, Job V. Kimber, James Clark, J. Q. A. Rollins, 
 Enos K. Baxter, A. J. Vanderen, Geo. Sparks, A. 
 VanCamp, J. P. Waterman, H. M. Orahood, George 
 Stegner, and others. 
 
 Goldrick publishes the following list of pioneers 
 now residing at or near Denver. 
 
 Among the Fifty-eighters now with us, we note the 
 following: J. H. Dudley, J. J. Riethmann and brother, 
 E. A. Willoughby, Robert Hamilton, N. H. Rice, A. 
 H. Barker, A. J. Williams, R. E. Whitsitt, D. C. Oakes, 
 Capt. R. Sopris, Ed. W. Wynkoop, George C. Schleier, 
 J. T. Younker, Jim Cochran, Dad Clark, and a few 
 others who now escape memory. 
 
 Among the Fifty-niners now here and hereabouts 
 we note as follows, for the special benefit, also, of the 
 future historian: W. N. Byers, Amos Steck, J. L. 
 Dailey, J. W Donnellan, W. J. Curtice and brother, 
 Chas. E. Semper, J. W. Iliff and brother, J. W. Wier, 
 J. D. Anderson, A. Dibble, Wm. Wise, Geo. Aux, 
 John Yeager, L. W. Bacon, Carl. Mann, W. T. Short- 
 eidge, M. Silverthorn, R. B. Bradford, J. McBroom, 
 and brother, J. H. Geerish, E. W. Cobb, J. S. May- 
 nard, S. Monk, J. Sanderson, W. W. Webster, James 
 Henshal, W. W. Whipple, Dr. J. H. Morrison, L. W. 
 Cutler, G. W. Drake, O. A. Wlrttemore, D. K. Wall,
 
 Il6 CI H.ORADO. 
 
 \l. M. Seavy, A. 11. Miles and son, Dr. 11. 11. Hewitt, 
 W. K. Ford and brother, Ed. McOmtock, Jere Lewis, 
 i. L. McCormick, II. M. Foster, Dave Conly, W. C. 
 McClellan, D. M. Richards and brother, D. D. Shaw, 
 Joe Payne, N. M. Nimrick, J. P. Sears, C. A. Cook, 
 L H.uney, J. A Nye, D. Tom Smith, W. F. Stone, 
 S. M. Logan, J no. Good, Win. Cole, Jim Boutwell, 
 S.J.Anthony, J. Crowley, II. J. Brendlinger, John 
 Armor, \\ . II. Morgan, E. C. Sumner, Win. Carson, 
 1). 0. Wilhelm, J. L. Baily, A. Jacobs, Wolf Lon- 
 doner and brother, I. II. Batchelor, F. Z. Solomon, 
 A. C. Hunt and brother, J. M. Broadwell, J. C. Spencer, 
 A. M. Stanbury, A. D. Cooper, Wm. Lee, Chas. G. 
 Chever and brother, G. W. Brown, A. M. Allen, E. J. 
 Sanderlin, E. M. Hamilton, J. S. Wheeler, J. Milheim, 
 O. J. Goldrick, J. A. Conners, H. P. Bennet, Daniel 
 Witter, C. H. McLaughlin, Jere Kershaw, G. W. 
 Clayton, C. Clements and son, H. Z. Solomon and 
 perhaps a score of others. In the mountain towns and 
 in southern Colorado, there are doubtless a few hun- 
 dred more names to be added to the above list." 
 
 The lives of Colorado pioneers were often replete 
 with wild and daring adventures, startling scenes and 
 amusing incidents. Volumes of story and anecdote, 
 could be written concerning them, but as this sketch 
 relates more strictly to general history, the reader 
 will pardon omission in a work of this kind. 
 
 In 1H65, a daring but unsuccessful attempt was 
 made in Black Hawk to rob John Sensenderfer, of a 
 large number of gold retorts, worth many thousands
 
 COLORADO. I I 7 
 
 of dollars. The scheme was frustrated through the 
 exertions and activity of Sheriff Cozzens and Marshal 
 Robert A. Clark. 
 
 Of the business houses of Central in i860, Nuck- 
 olls & Hawk took the lead. F. J. Marshall, now of 
 Georgetown, and John Armor, and Mike Curran were 
 also prominent merchants of Central and Missouri 
 cities. Wm. M. Roworth established what was after- 
 wards so generally known as the Central City Bakery. 
 In Black Hawk, David Ettien, Warner & Scobey, and 
 others, were doing a flourishing business. 
 
 The first regularly elected officers of Gilpin county 
 were chosen in September, 1861. Columbus Nuckolls 
 was county treasurer, and held the office nine years. 
 For one third of that time he was also treasurer of the 
 territory, and of Central City. Jesse L. Pritchard was 
 sheriff and was succeeded by Wm. Z. Cozzens in 1863. 
 B. S. Buell was county clerk and recorder. Although 
 all of these offices were then very lucrative, that of 
 recorder stood first in regard to profit. For nearly 
 four years, from ten to fifteen clerks were employed, 
 and during this time Buell's position was worth about 
 $20,000 per annum. This was owing to the vast 
 amount of recording caused by numerous sales and 
 discoveries of property, to the consolidation of the 
 districts, etc. 
 
 Gilpin county may be termed the mother of most 
 other mining districts, for it has aided very essentially 
 in peopling and developing them. A large number 
 of the miners and leading business men of other
 
 I lS C< lLORAOO. 
 
 Localities were once residents of Central, Black Hawk 
 or Nevada. This is especially noticeable in George- 
 town and in Clear Creek county, in the silver and tel- 
 lurium districts of Boulder, and in Park and the 
 southwestern counties, where several thousand Gilpin- 
 ites congregate here and therein greater or lesser num- 
 bers. It was a jolly crowd that went to make up the life, 
 activity and controlling individuality of the mountain 
 towns, five or ten. years ago. "The boys" represented 
 the leading element in those days, and a better, more 
 generous, whole-souled orlivlier crew never gathered 
 together than that around Central. Money was plenty 
 and "times were good." Old and young ( all were 
 young in feeling in the early days), made the most 
 of the situation. Of the scores who helped to make 
 life pleasant or endurable in the first decade of our 
 history, one-half have crossed the dark river. Of the 
 remainder, some broken in fortune, and others on the 
 high wave of prosperity, are fighting life's battle, mid 
 other scenes and localities. 
 
 The most productive gulch in the territory was 
 California, in Lake county, which for several sum- 
 mers succeeding i860, gave employment to four or 
 five thousand men, with a yield of nearly one million 
 dollars per season. For the past twelve years this 
 locality has been worked, but the best deposits were 
 obtained in 1860—64. The Oro Ditch Company, now 
 fairly ready for work, will operate very extensively in 
 that section for years to come. 
 
 In September, 1861, the town of Nevadaville was
 
 COLORADO. 119 
 
 almost entirely destroyed by fire. Denver was also 
 visited with a severe conflagration in 1863. On the 
 2 1 st day of May, 1864, a terrible flood came down 
 Cherry creek, carrying everything before it. The bed 
 of the creek was usually free from water, and many 
 buildings had been erected therein, or along the banks. 
 These were all carried away, together with a safe con- 
 taining many of the records or titles of town property. 
 The News office went down the stream with the rest, 
 and its contents were never heard of afterwards. Very 
 heavy rains on the "divide " and in the hills above 
 the city caused this sudden rise of the creek, which, 
 without previous warning, came down in the dead hour 
 of night with a wall of water from fifteen to twenty 
 feet in heighth. People had barely time to escape from 
 their buildings, and all were not even thus fortunate. 
 From this time, a wide berth was usually given to 
 Cherry creek by builders. A second and less severe 
 flood occurred in 1876, when but little damage resulted. 
 
 The first officers of Pueblo county, under the terri- 
 torial government established in 1861, were as follows: 
 Sheriff, John B. Rice; clerk, S. Smith; probate judge, 
 W. Chapman ; Among the settlers at that time were 
 O. P. H. Baxter, Geo. A. Hinsdale, John W. Shaw, 
 Col. J. M. Francisco and Mark. G. Bradford. John A. 
 Thatcher, now one of the wealthiest men of that sec- 
 tion, drove in a yoke of oxen pulling a small wagon 
 load of goods, with which he stocked a store. 
 
 The following graphic account of life in those days 
 is taken from W. F Stone's history of Pueblo county :
 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 " lii a large log building which served as the hotel, 
 with its great comfortable fire place and its sufficient 
 force of sleek, well-fed bed bugs, we used to have our 
 first dances. Ah ! in those halcyon days we didn't 
 fool round and fall down over two yards of draggling 
 silk trail, but we came down to genuine flat-footed 
 dancing. And such fiddling! Perched on a candle 
 box in the corner, the fiddler made no pretentions to 
 a knowledge of Strauss or Ole Bull or any of those 
 foreign chaps, but he just straightened back, shut his 
 eyes, called so he could be heard to the St. Charles, 
 and made the cat-gut howl. And the names of the 
 tunes were such as you could understand if you 
 wanted to call out your favorite, such as the Arkansaw 
 Traveler, Five Miles from Town, The Devil's Dream, 
 and Soapsuds Over the Fence. 
 
 Society was rather crude up to this period. The 
 cheerful hum of the bullet and the soothing slash of 
 the bowie knife had occasionally enlivened the com- 
 munity. Bercaw had committed three cold blooded 
 murders; Charley Dodge, the very prince of the chiv- 
 alry of desperado gamblers, had assassinated his part- 
 ner in crime ; and several lynchings had ornamented 
 the limbs of cottonwood trees in the vicinity. 
 
 The first post office was kept by Simms, and then by 
 1). J. Hayden, in a store opened in 1863 in the old 
 adobe building now used by Mr. Jenner. Postmasters 
 didn't put on the style in those days that Billy Inger- 
 soll now assumes back of the pigeon holes where no 
 one can get at him to hit him. The mail bag was
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 emptied on the floor and the crowd told to pitch in 
 'them that could read,' and pick out what belonged to 
 them. What was left after this promiscuous sorting 
 was put in an empty candle box and when people 
 came to the post office, they were told to go and look 
 for themselves and not be bothering the postmaster." 
 
 The town grew slowly, and it was not until 1868 
 that the first church, St. Peter's Episcopal, was erected. 
 Says the same author, " Its bell was the first church 
 bell south of Denver, and when its_ tones sounded 
 over the village, it brought to many a heart the tender 
 memories of a childhood's home, long buried by 
 years of life on the Sabbathless border." 
 
 As years passed on Denver and Central became 
 flourishing cities, with an air of permanence about 
 them not known in their younger days. Elegant school 
 and church buildings were erected, some costing from 
 twenty to thirty thousand dollars; banking houses 
 increased in number and wealth ; handsome blocks 
 and attractive private residences were becoming 
 numerous; libraries and societies'were instituted; and 
 the advent of the railroad brought a general impove- 
 ment in hotels, newspapers, &c, and* a reduction of 
 prices of labor and in the cost of living and conduct- 
 ing business. The most distructive conflagration 
 ever experienced in Colorado occurred at Central, 
 May 21, 1874. The' business portion^ of the city, 
 principally built of wood, was almost entirely dis- 
 troyed by fire in less than three hours, and the total 
 loss of property was estimated at $750,000. The work
 
 122 COLORADO. 
 
 of rebuilding commenced immediately, and hand- 
 some, and substantial blocks of brick and stone, 
 as solid and enduring as the hills that overshadow 
 them, attest to the enterprise of the people of this 
 mountain city, and to the permanence and lasting 
 character of her mines. 
 
 After the silver mines of Clear Creek and Summit 
 counties had been operated several years, and developed 
 very slightly, other silver districts began to be opened. 
 That of Caribou attracted general attention and a 
 large number of people in the summer of 1870, and 
 the Park county mines of the Mosquito range became 
 famous one year later. Subsequently the silver mines 
 of Rosita, Geneva, Hall's Valley, the San Juan 
 country and lastly of the Rabbit Ear range, were dis- 
 covered and have been extensively developed. 
 
 The total yield of Colorado's gold and silver mines 
 from their discovery in 1859 to the present time, a 
 period of seventeen years has been estimated at from 
 $60,000,000 to $70,000,000. Hollister gives the U. 
 S. mint returns up to June 30, 1866. The bullion 
 that had been deposited there was almost entirely 
 gold, and footed up $12,401,374, which good authori- 
 ties state was less than one-half the actual yield of 
 the territory. After the silver mines were fairly 
 opened the bullion exports largely increased, averag- 
 ing in later years from five to seven millions of dollars, 
 or double what they did in the previous decade.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 POLITICAL AND GENERAL HISTORY. 
 
 The fight for Statehood— 1864-7— Election of State Officers— 
 Andy Johnson' 1 s Veto — The advent of the Railroads — 
 Beneficial effect thereof— Subsequent Prosperity and 
 rapid advancement — Passage of the Enabling Act of 
 1875 — Adoption of a Constitution — State Election. 
 
 In 1863, the politicians again began to agitate the 
 state- question. A convention assembled al Denver, 
 July 11, 1864, and within ten days brought forth a. 
 constitution for the proposed commonwealth. Among 
 the members of this body were W. N. Byers, Geo. T. 
 Clark, J. H. Gest, Henry M. Teller, R. Sopris, C. M. 
 Tyler, Chase Withrow, and O. A. Whittemore, who 
 was chosen president. Congress had previously 
 passed an enabling act for the admission of the state. 
 At an election held subsequently, the constitution was 
 rejected, and at the same time A. A. Bradford was 
 elected delegate to congress. The vote stood as 
 follows: For the constitution, 4,219, against, 5,006; 
 For member of congress, in case the constitution was 
 adopted, John M. Chivington, 3,652, A. A. Bradford, 
 479; for delegate to congress, A. A. Bradford, 4,625 ; 
 John M. Chivington, 2,850. Another convention 
 framed a constitution at Denver in 1865, which was 
 adopted on the twelfth day of August, of that year, 
 by the following vote: For the constitution, 3,025,
 
 1 J 4 COLORADO. 
 
 against, 2,870. The question of negro suffrage was 
 submitted with the following result: for, 476, against, 
 +,192. 
 
 A state legislature was elected November 14, 1865. 
 1 luring the previous year, Henry M. Teller and 
 ex-Governor John Evans, although not elected, had 
 been the proposed candidates for the two seats ; n the 
 United States senate to which the coming state would 
 be entitled. This legislature however elected Evans 
 and Jerome B. Chaffee. A full complement of state 
 officers was also chosen by popular vote. Colorado's 
 first territorial governor, Wm. Gilpin, a republican, 
 was elected govenor ; G. A. Hidsdale, democrat, lieut. 
 governor; J. H. Gest, secretary of state; and Geo. 
 M. Cnilcott, republican, congressman. Gilpin received 
 3,123 votes for govenor; Craig, 2,599; an< ^ Scudder 
 1,835. For congressman, Chilcott had 3,104 votes; 
 D. D. Belden, democrat, 2,119; anc ^ James M. Cav- 
 anagh, democrat, 1,696. 
 
 A constitution had thus been adopted, and senators 
 and state officers chosen, without again applying for 
 an enabling act, it being taken for granted that one 
 could be readily obtained. That congress however 
 refused to take favorable action thereon. Some time 
 after, however, congress in order to secure reinforce- 
 ments in its great contest with President Johnson, 
 passed an enabling act which the President vetoed. 
 The struggle for statehood ended for years to come 
 in the winter of 1867-8, when it was found impossible 
 to pass the bill over the veto ; and so none of the
 
 COLORADO. 125 
 
 above named gentlemen came to fill the positions to 
 which they aspired. 
 
 In 1864, A. W. Atkins become territorial treas- 
 urer, succeeding Geo. T. Clark ; and R. E. Whitsett, 
 auditor. In 1865, Alexander Cummings succeeded 
 John Evans as governor, and A. C. Hunt was United 
 States marshal ; the justices of the supreme court were 
 Stephen S. Harding, C. S. Armour, and A. A. Brad- 
 ford. Frank Hall succeeded S. H. Elbert as secretary 
 of the territory in 1866, and George W. Chamber- 
 lain became attorney general. U. B. Halloway was 
 marshal, and G. W. Lane assistant treasurer and 
 superintendent of the United States mint. The 
 justices of the supreme court were Moses Hallett, 
 G. W. Gorsline and Eyster. Columbus Nickolls was 
 tentorial treasurer, and D. J. Martin deputy or acting 
 treasurer. A. C. Hunt became governor early in 
 1867. 
 
 At the congressional election of 1866, Geo. M. 
 Chilcott, of Pueblo, was elected delegate to represent 
 the territory at Washington. The vote stood : 
 Geo. M. Chilcott, (republican,) - - - - 8,529 
 A. C. Hunt, (independent,) ----- 8,421 
 Scattering, ---------- 46 
 
 Total, -------- 16,996 
 
 In the month of September, 1868, Allen A. Brad- 
 ford was elected to congress, by the following vote : 
 A. A. Bradford, -------- 4,092 
 
 D. D. Belden, --------- 4,07.5 
 
 Bradford's majority, ------- 17
 
 1 26 COLORADO. 
 
 Congressional election of 1870: 
 
 Jerome B. Chaffee, republican, - - - 6,450 
 
 George W. Miller, democrat, - - - - 5,058 
 
 Chaffee's majority, ------- 1,392 
 
 Congressional election of 1872: 
 
 Jerome B. Chaffee, (republican,) - - - 7,596 
 
 A. Cameron Hunt, (liberal,) - - - - 6,260 
 
 Chaffee's majority, ------- 1,336 
 
 At the commencement of President Grant's first 
 administration in 1869, Gen. Edward McCook was 
 appointed governor of Colorado in place of Hunt, 
 while secretary Frank Hall was re-appointed. Marc 
 M. Shaffenburg had become U. S. marshal. In 1873, 
 Samuel H. Elbert succeeded McCook as governor. 
 McCook, after being removed, went east, and in Jan- 
 uary, 1874, secured his own appointment in lieu of 
 Elbert. Grant's action in this matter and his subse- 
 quent removal of Frank Hall, for J. W. Jenkins ; of 
 postmaster H. P. Bennet, for Cheever; and other 
 officials caused severe criticism and much bitter feel- 
 ing on the part of those who had so long led the 
 republican party in Colorado. Here arose "the war 
 of the factions." One of these comprised those who 
 had held or controlled the federal and political appoint- 
 ments of the country, and included the moneyed 
 power, and a majority of the voters of the party; the 
 other those who supported the President's appointees. 
 With the former were delegate Chaffee, who was mak-
 
 COLORADO. 127 
 
 ing a desperate fight at Washington to prevent the 
 confirmation of the new appointees, by the senate. 
 He was backed by Evans, Elbert, Moffat, Bennet, 
 Steck, the Denver News and Times, and most of the 
 press of the territory. With the McCook wing of the 
 party were Henry M. Teller, J. B. Belford, H. P. 
 Bromwell, the Tribune, and many others. The new 
 appointees were classed as "carpet-baggers," and that 
 cry proved an effectual one in the ensuing campaign. 
 J. W. Jenkins become secretary and acting governor, 
 and Champion Vaughn succeeded W. R. Thomas as 
 adjutant general ; Geo. C. Corning was appointed 
 treasurer to succeed Moffat, September 10, 1874. 
 The republicans held their territorial convention at 
 Denver about the first of August, 1874, and nomi- 
 nated H. P. H. Bromwell for delegate to congress. 
 This convention was controlled by the McCook or 
 newer element. The democrats nominated Thomas 
 M. Patterson of Denver. The campaign was a sharp 
 and exciting one. The " old time," or Chaffee and 
 Elbert men, having failed to defeat their apponents in 
 Washington, devoted their attention to defeating them 
 at home. How well they succeeded, is shown by the 
 returns of the election of September 8, 1874. Instead 
 of the usual republican majority of thirteen or four- 
 teen hundred, Patterson, the democratic nominee, 
 received a majority over Bromwell of 2,163.
 
 US ( < U.OKA DO. 
 
 The vote stood as follows : 
 
 Thomas M. Patterson, (democrat,) - - 9,333 
 
 11. P. 1 1. Brom well, (republican,) - - - 7,170 
 
 Scattering, ---------- 49 
 
 Total, -------- 16,552 
 
 The discontent caused by the new Federal appoint- 
 ments, and the long and bitter fued that ensued, ren- 
 dered the people more decided in their desire for a 
 state government with rulers of their own choosing. 
 Consequently another state movement was inaugura- 
 ted. The war of the factions was quieted by the 
 appointment of a new set of government officials, who 
 came from neither wing of the republican party of 
 Colorado, but were taken from the states direct. This 
 had a tendency to re-unite the party and to still the 
 fierce war of words with which the public press had 
 been teeming. 
 
 The new appointees made in 1875, were, John L. 
 Routt, goveanor; John Taffe, secretary; A. W. Stone 
 and A. W. Brazee, justices of the supreme court; 
 
 Bradley, vice Alleman, United States attorney ; 
 
 and C. C. Tonmkins, United States marshal. 
 
 As time passed on, the wonderful mineral resources 
 of Colorado became better known and understood. 
 Her stock-growing and agricultural capacities were 
 also becoming fairly tested. This induced a more 
 permanent settlement of the region in place of the tran- 
 sient population that had been known heretofore. 
 The advent of the railroads in 1870, was the grand
 
 COLORADO. 1 29 
 
 move that gave an impetus to the progress, develop- 
 ment and advancement of the territory. Such rapid 
 growth followed as had never before been experienced. 
 Communication with the east and west became rapid, 
 easy and cheap. Immigration set in at the rate of 
 from twenty to thirty thousand annually. The cli- 
 matic advantages and attractive nature of this new 
 land of the west, became more fully known, and the 
 invalid and pleasure seeker began to visit Colorado 
 by thousands. Many of these eventually became per- 
 manent residents. From almost no increase at all 
 in preceeding years, the population had grown from 
 39,700 in 1870 to 135,000 in 1876. 
 
 There has been an equal advance in the founding 
 and growth of towns, in mining, farming and stock 
 raising, in the newspaper press, and in railways. In 
 1870, there were but four daily newspapers in Colo- 
 rado, viz : the News and the Tribune of Denver, and 
 the Register and the Herald at Central ; there were 
 only five weekly papers published in the territory at 
 the same time; now the number of Denver dailies 
 has doubled, and there are six daily and thirty weekly 
 issues in Colorado. There were then no towns of 
 any considerable size outside of Denver and Central. 
 Now there are a score of lively towns and cities, sev- 
 eral of which number as many inhabitants as Denver 
 itself possessed in 1870. Railroads both local and 
 foreign began to be extended north, south, east and 
 west, and to nearly all settled parts of the territory. 
 Beautiful towns and cities grew as if by magic, on 
 9
 
 1 30 COLORADO. 
 
 every hand, and the mines, farms, and stock ranches 
 were more generally profitable than those of any other 
 section of the country. 
 
 Under these circumstances it was not strange that 
 a general sentiment began to make itself manifest in 
 favor of a state government. In the congress of '74-5, 
 Jerome B. Chaffee, Colorado's delegate in congress, 
 secured the introduction of an enabling act, and after a 
 hard fight it passed both houses. It was so amended 
 however, as to postpone the date of admission, in 
 case a constitution was framed and adopted, to July 
 4, 1876; hence the title "Centennial State," from its 
 admission on the nation's centennial. 
 
 The convention called to frame a constitution was 
 in session during the greater portion of the winter of 
 1875-6, and the instrument was adopted July I, 1876, 
 by the following popular vote : In favor of constitu- 
 tion, 15,430; against, 4,053. Arapahoe county polled 
 5,591 votes at this election. The constitutional con- 
 vention comprised the following members: 
 
 J. C. Wilson, president ; H. P. H. Bromwell, Casi- 
 mira Barela, George Boylcs, W. E. Beck, B. L. Carr, 
 Wm. H. Cushman, W. M. Clark, A. D. Cooper, H. 
 R. Crosby, Robert Douglas, L. C. Ellsworth, C. P. 
 Elder, F. J. Ebert, W. B. Felton, J. M. Garcia, Daniel 
 Hurd, John S. Hough, Lafayette Head, Wm. H. 
 James, Wm. R. Kennedy, Wm. L. Lee, Alvin Marsh, 
 Wm. II. Meyer, S. J. Plumb, Geo. E. Pease, Robert 
 A. Quillian, Lewis C. Rockwell, Wilber F. Stone, W. 
 C. Stover, H. C. Thatcher, Agapeta Vigil, W. W.
 
 COLORADO. I3I 
 
 Webster, G. G. White, E. T. Wells, P. P. Wilcox, J. 
 S. Wheeler, J. W. Widderfield, A. K. Yount, W. W. 
 Coulson, secretary. 
 
 The republican state convention was held at Pueblo, 
 August 23, and nominated the following ticket: 
 
 For member of forty-fourth and forty-fifth congresses, 
 James B. Belford; for governor, John L. Routt ; lieuten- 
 ant governor, Lafayette Head ; secretary of state, Wm. 
 M. Clark ; auditor, D. C. Crawford ; treasurer, Geo. 
 C. Corning ; for attorney general, Archibald J. Samp- 
 son; for superintendent of public instruction, Joseph 
 C. Shattuck; forjudges of the supreme court, Eben- 
 ezer T. Wells, Henry C. Thacher, Samuel H. Elbert. 
 
 The democratic convention, held at Manitou, 
 August 29, nominated as follows: 
 
 For member of 44th and 45th congress, Thomas 
 M. Patterson; for governor, Bela M. Hughes; for 
 lieutenant governor, Michael Beshoar; for secretary 
 of state, James T. Smith ; for auditor of state, James 
 F. Benedict ; for state treasurer, Thomas M. Field ; 
 for attorney general, George Q. Richmond; for super- 
 intendent of public instruction, John B. Groesbeck; 
 for judges of the supreme court, Wilber F. Stone, 
 Ellsworth Wakley, George W. Miller. 
 
 This was the most hotly contested of Colorado 
 campaigns, and resulted in the success of the repub- 
 lican ticket by majorities (estimated) of from five to 
 twelve hundred. The election occurred October third, 
 and the total vote polled approaches 30,000.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE RAILWAY AND THE PRINTING PRESS. 
 
 Staging in t/u Far West Its Perils and Hardships — 
 Approach of the Pacijic Railway — Building of the 
 Denver Pacific and Colorado Central — The Denver 
 and li" Orande and other roads — Their beneficial 
 effect — The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe— The great 
 Soidhivcsfcr/i Highway — The first Newspapers and 
 their history Rapid growth of .Journalism — Colonies — 
 San Juan— Tellurium Land. 
 
 For a long period of tim; the stage driver and 
 freighter have been steadily receding from an immense 
 scope of country, in which they were once indispen- 
 sible. Year after year they have been called to 
 " move on " before the ever encroaching ends of the 
 railways, and the sharp competition of lower prices. 
 Yet the same lips that welcome the approach of the 
 steam motor, utter a heart-felt good-bye and God 
 speed to the friends of other days. But although 
 crowded from their former haunts, they are still the 
 autocrats of travel over an empire of park and moun- 
 tain, as matchless for grandeur and beauty as it is 
 boundless in extent. Here the tourist or pleasure 
 seeker can still be treated to an exhilerating drive 
 from canon to mountain top, or be whirled at break- 
 neck speed around the brink of yawning chasms until 
 the brain grows dizzy, and tired nature weary of the 
 occupation. No showers of Indian bullets greet the 
 driver and his load of human freight as before the
 
 COLORADO. I33 
 
 days of Pullman sleepers and fashionable watering 
 places, but there is enough of excitement in one of 
 these mountain drives to satisfy the average traveler. 
 And, while we turn to note the advance of the railway 
 and telegraph, let all honor be accorded the gallant 
 knights of the ribbons, who have conducted them- 
 selves with equal credit whether in scenes of peril and 
 danger, or in the routine every-day duties of life on 
 the road. 
 
 The Union Pacific railroad reached Cheyenne, just 
 beyond Colorado's northern boundary, late in 1867; 
 and Denver was within one hundred and five miles of 
 an eastern outlet by rail. Steps had been taken by 
 ex-governor John Evans and other Denverites to con- 
 struct a road from the Capital northward to the Union 
 Pacific, and the Denver Pacific Railway Company was 
 organized. Arapahoe county aided the enterprise by 
 voting bonds to the amount of $500,000. The Kansas 
 Pacific was constructed through the state of Kansas 
 to Sheridan, in 1867-8, when work was temporarily 
 suspended to await further subsidies from congress. 
 Some time after, track laying began on the Denver 
 Pacific, and amid general rejoicing the locomotive 
 gave its first shrill notes of welcome to the men of 
 the border in July, 1870. 
 
 In the meantime the Kansas Pacific had been mak- 
 ing rapid strides westward, and on the completion of 
 the Denver Pacific, began to build eastward from 
 Denver, as well as west from its temporary terminus. 
 The road was finished on the fifteenth day of August,
 
 I 34 COLORADO. 
 
 1 870, by the laying of fourteen miles of track in a 
 single day. This is the greatest achievement in rail- 
 road building the world can boast of. Eight miles 
 were laid from the eastern end and six from the west- 
 ern, the point of union being some eighty miles east 
 of Denver. The road is 640 miles in length. 
 
 For mt ral years a scheme had been projected and 
 a company chartered to construct a railroad up Clear 
 Creek canon to the mining districts of Central and 
 Georgetown, and thence on to Utah. H. M. Teller, 
 and W. A. H. Loveland, were the leading spirit of 
 this enterprise. By untiring exertions and a liberal 
 expenditure of their own money, they, in connection 
 with eastern capitalists, secured the construction of 
 seventeen miles of track in 1870, making connection 
 between Golden and Denver, and the eastern roads. 
 And now came the most difficult and expensive por- 
 tion of the undertaking. Not only was their treasury 
 nearly empty, but opposition was experienced from a 
 competing company. The remainder of the route 
 extended through the mountains, up the rugged, 
 narrow canon of Clear Creek, where sharp curves and 
 steep grades are of constant occurrence. A rise of 
 over 2,100 feet is experienced in a distance of twenty- 
 one miles, between Golden and Black Hawk. In many 
 places a way could be found only by blasting it 
 through the solid and overhanging walls of granite. 
 In other localities, the roadway must be built in, or 
 beside, the bed of the torrent, whose dashings through 
 countless ages had worn itself a channel deep down
 
 COLORADO. ' 135 
 
 in the heart of the mountains. To capital and com- 
 petent engineers this was practicable, but without the 
 former the building of such a road, whose pecuniary- 
 merits were yet to be tested, seemed a very doubtful 
 
 COLORADO CENTRAL RAILROAD — CLEAR CREEK CANON. 
 
 undertaking. Energy and pluck finally triumphed, 
 however, and the construction force and track layers 
 steadily pushed their work forward until the wild
 
 I JO I COLORADO. 
 
 canons of the " Rockies." echoed with the scream of 
 the locomotive, and the "iron horse" steamed grandly 
 into the mountain-walled city of Black 1 lawk. This 
 was early in 1873. Subsequently another line of road 
 was constructed from the forks of north and south 
 Clear Creeks toward Georgetown, which point it will 
 doubtless reach within another year. Another divis- 
 ion of the road was constructed from a point east of 
 Golden, northward through the coal lands along the 
 eastern base of the mountains, to Boulder and Long- 
 mont. The counties of Jefferson, Boulder, and Gilpin, 
 voted altogether £450,000 in bonds in aid of the enter- 
 prise. The mountain division of the road is a marvel 
 of engineering skill and a monument of western enter- 
 prise. Its benefit to the mining towns can hardly be 
 estimated. 
 
 In 1 87 1, the Denver, Rio Grande and El Paso rail- 
 way was built south from Denver, a distance of seventy- 
 six miles, and a town laid out at the southern terminus, 
 called Colorado Springs. This place is now one of 
 the most beautiful and flourishing cities in Colorado, 
 and with its neighbor Manitou, forms the most fash- 
 ionable and attractive watering place west of the 
 Atlantic seaboard. General l?almer was at the head 
 of this road. Like the mountain division of the 
 Colorado Central, it is of the narrow gauge of 
 three feet. Its ultimate destination south, is the 
 city of Mexico, and its three southern branches are 
 already completed respectively to Trinidad, near the 
 New Mexican border, to LaVeta, and to Canon City.
 
 COLORADO. 1 37 
 
 One line will strike southward through New Mexico, 
 and the other west across San Luis Park, into the San 
 Juan mountains. 
 
 The South Park road, organized by ex-governor 
 Evans and others, was built from Denver to Morrison, 
 (just beyond the base of the mountains), in 1874, and 
 is now being pushed forward up the Platte canon 
 towards South Park, and the San Juan country. The 
 Boulder Valley, extending from Denver through the 
 coal fields to Boulder, and the branch road from Car- 
 son to Las Animas, are dependencies of the Kansas 
 Pacific. 
 
 While the Pacific roads were advancing westward 
 by means of heavy government subsidies, an organi- 
 zation of solid and substantial capitalists began to build 
 a new road, whose objective point is Santa Fe, New 
 Mexico. But its projectors desired not alone to secure 
 the extensive and remunerative traffic of the south- 
 west; southern Kansas, the fertile valley of the Arkan- 
 sas, extending west to the mountains, and better still 
 Colorado, were leading inducements for the under- 
 taking. 
 
 The organization took the name of the Atchison, 
 Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company. Quietly, 
 but steadily, the road was constructed westward and 
 up the valley of the Arkansas until it reached the 
 great stock growing country on the borders of Kan- 
 sas and Colorado. New towns sprung up and became 
 great shipping points for cattle and sheep. In one sea- 
 son over one hundred thousand buffalo were slaugh-
 
 138 COLORADO. 
 
 tercd and their hides shipped east from Fort Dodge 
 station. The road was next built as far west as Fort 
 Lyon, near which the town of West Las Animas was 
 founded. This became the point of shipment for the 
 cattle men as well as for the New Mexico trade, and 
 for a time was one of the liveliest and wildest of bor- 
 der towns. Then the railway company extended their 
 road to Pueblo, the metropolis of southern Colorado, 
 this portion of the line being known as the Arkansas 
 Valley railway. Here connection is made with the 
 Denver and Rio Grande, running north, south and 
 west. The completion of the Atchison, Topcka and 
 Santa Fe road to Pueblo, made that city a railroad 
 center, and gave to Colorado a new and competing 
 line and outlet to the east. This was sadly needed 
 after the union of interests on the part of the Kansas 
 and Union Pacific companies. Untold benefits have 
 been secured for southern Colorado and the wonderful 
 gold and silver mining region of the San Juan country. 
 Direct rail communication is now afforded to a vast 
 scope of country, and the shrill neigh of the iron 
 horse will soon be heard in the streets of Del Norte, 
 and the canons of the San Juan mountains. This 
 company have constructed over six hundred miles of 
 railway, (unequalled in the far west), over the most 
 feasable and attractive route to Colorado. Pullman 
 cars, and every convenience and luxury known to 
 first-class roads, are supplied. This line of railway is 
 proving of vast benefit to the state, and more espec- 
 ially to the sections which it intersects. Southern and
 
 COLORADO. 1 39 
 
 central Colorado and New Mexico, will give it an 
 annually increasing business until it assumes immense 
 proportions. 
 
 The press was liberally patronized by the cities of 
 the mountains and plains. The Journal was estab- 
 lished at Black Hawk, in 1861, and D. C. Collier and 
 others started the Miners' Register, at Central, in the 
 spring of 1862. Frank Hall, who with O. J. Hollister 
 had been publishing the Journal, bought into the 
 Register m 1865. The Journal was sold and moved to 
 Central near the close of 1866, and was then known 
 as the Times. From that time it was democratic in 
 politics. One year later when T. J. Campbell became 
 its owner, the name was changed to Colorado Herald. 
 Three years after Frank Fossett became proprietor 
 and remained so until the publication was discontin- 
 ued late in the summer of 1873. Just before this 
 time, Collier retired from the Register, and Hall & 
 Whipple, were the publishers up to the time of Mr. 
 Whipple's retirement in 1876. George Collier con- 
 ducted the Black Hawk Journal, during portions 
 of 1872-3. All of these papers had both daily and 
 weekly editions. 
 
 Of the older Denver papers the News, for a long 
 time was owned by W. N. Byers and John L. Dailey, 
 and by the former alone, during the past six years. 
 Its first number was issued April 27, 1859. The News 
 absorbed the daily Commonwealth after the Cherry creek 
 flood of 1864. L. M. Koons founded the daily Trib- 
 une, in 1 867, and R. W. Woodbury and John Walker
 
 I .}< I COLORADO. 
 
 soon after became part owners and afterwards, full 
 owners of the establishment. Woodbury at length 
 became sole owner, succeeded by the Tribune Asso- 
 ciation, .md it by Henry C. Brown. Herman Beckurts 
 purchased from the latter in 1875. The Farmer rep- 
 resents the agricultural, and the Mining Review the 
 mining interests. They have done good service since 
 their establishment over three years ago. 
 
 Fred. J. Stanton, published the Denver daily Gazette, 
 from 1864 to late in 1868. O. J. Goldrick established 
 the Rocky Mountain pcrald, early in the latter year. 
 R. W. Woodbury founded the Denver daily Times, in 
 1 87 1, and Stanley G. Fowler, the Mirror, in 1873. 
 Several daily publications have been started at Denver 
 during the past few years, such as the Democrat, Senti- 
 tinel, Transcript, etc. 
 
 The Pueblo Chieftain, made its first appearance as 
 a weekly in 1867. George West, started the Golden 
 Transcript, in December 1866, and the Georgetown 
 Miner, dates back to 1867. These, and the Boulder 
 News, embrace all of the older publications of the 
 country, excepting several transient, or short lived 
 affairs that have not been noticed here. The thirty- 
 five or more daily and weekly publications of the 
 present time are scattered among twenty-four towns 
 and cities, and many of them are very creditable jour- 
 nals. The Denver press excels in many ways that of 
 any other city, large or small, between St. Louis 
 and San Francisco, and of any place of equal size in 
 the world.
 
 COLORADO. 141 
 
 Several colonies were established in Colorado dur- 
 ing the years 1869-70-71. Some of them proved 
 successful and permanent enterprises, and others were 
 failures. Of the latter class the German settlement in 
 Wet Mountain Valley, was an instance, and Greeley, 
 Longmont, Evans and Colorado Springs, were the 
 successful ventures. Greeley, located in Weld county, 
 was founded in May 1870, and now embraces 2,000 
 people. Longmont and Evans, although smaller, have 
 had a healthy growth. Colorado Springs, dates from 
 1 871, and is now one of the largest, most beautiful 
 and prosperous cities of the state, outside of Denver. 
 
 One of the most important events in Colorado's 
 history was the discovery and development of the great 
 San Juan mineral belt and the settlement of that sec- 
 tion. This has occurred during the past four years, 
 and has drawn heavily on the population of the oider 
 counties of the state. Recently more than half of the 
 immigration to Colorado has drifted into that highly 
 favored region. 
 
 The Tellurium mines of Boulder county have also 
 created no little interest in that county of infinite 
 resources. These date from 1873, and during the past 
 two years have yielded heavily and caused the settle- 
 ment of numerous towns and mining camps. 
 
 The historical portion of the book ends with this 
 chapter. The author does not claim this to be a 
 complete and comprehensive history, but rather a 
 rambling narrative of events down to the time Colorado 
 donned the garments of statehood. That it may prove
 
 14- 
 
 coi.ok \no. 
 
 accurate in every particular, is our sincere wish. 
 Historical notes of mines and districts will be found 
 in the mining chapters, while the result of the recent 
 State election and other political and miscellaneous 
 facts and figures will be embodied in the closing 
 chapter of this volume.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE LAND OF SILVER AND GOLD. 
 
 Its Advantages, Attractions and Resources — A Haven for 
 the Invalid — For the Tourist, Recreation and Pleasure 
 — For the Industrious, a Home — The Mineral Belt of 
 Colorado— Its Extent, Character, and Formation. 
 
 Colorado enters the Union with prospects that any 
 Commonwealth might envy. No other state or terri- 
 tory can compare with her in extent of mineral bearing 
 lands, or in number and variety of minerals. Her 
 deposits of gold, silver and coal, although but slightly 
 developed, undoubtedly exceed those of any portion 
 of the west. Besides these, her deposits of iron, lead, 
 copper, salt, lime, gypsum, fire-clay, etc., will yet add 
 largely to the common revenue. 
 
 The agricultural and stock growing resources are of 
 the first order. A ready cash market in the adjacent 
 mines, added to a most bountiful increase and produc- 
 tion, has rendered these avocations unusually remun- 
 erative. Colorado's climatic advantages and scenic 
 attractions are unrivaled, and have given her a world- 
 wide reputation. Here the invalid finds relief, while 
 the sight-seer is amply rewarded for the distance 
 traveled. No climate on earth possesses such invig- 
 orating health renewing properties, nor can any land 
 claim such wealth of mountain scenery. The sports- 
 man finds his fondest dreams realized among our
 
 I 44 COLORADO. 
 
 beautiful parks and mountains, and wishes for no better 
 hunting ground. 
 
 In addition to these great natural advantages, Colo- 
 rado has a population unsurpassed for intelligence, 
 enterprise, thrift and energy; and this population is 
 now oi a settled and permanent character. Her edu- 
 cational and religious facilities are of the highest 
 order, and no where are churches and schools 
 endowed with equal liberality. The finest or most 
 prominent building in a Colorado town is usually that 
 devoted to the public school, while church edifices 
 are always neat and attractive, and often costly and 
 elegant. The public school system of Colorado, is 
 based on the very best known at the east, and the 
 greatest interest is taken in the education of the rising 
 generation. Besides this, are the state and other 
 universities, and a number of private seminaries, acade- 
 mies and convents. No state ever entered the Union 
 with a people possessing an equal degree of culture, 
 refinement and wealth. Her mines are yielding mil- 
 lions annually, although mining is still in its infancy 
 here. The farmer and stock man are blessed with 
 plenty and a rapid increase of flocks and herds, of 
 property and property valuation. Old mines are being 
 steadily opened and new ones discovered; beautiful 
 towns are starting up on every hand, and the older 
 cities are enjoying an unusual degree of prosperity. 
 More miles of railway are said to have been con- 
 structed in Colorado during the past year than in 
 any state in the Union — and this for a community
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 H5 
 
 under a territorial government, and removed hun- 
 dreds of miles from densely populated regions. 
 
 The countless mines 
 of this vast mountain 
 region and the unoc- 
 cupied lands capable 
 of being used for past- 
 oral and farming pur- 
 poses, afford room and 
 opportunities for the 
 profitable investment 
 of tens of millions of 
 dollars, and of the em- 
 ployment of countless 
 thousands of laborers 
 at remunerative wages. 
 Railroads now enter 
 or closely approach 
 many of the rich min- 
 ing districts, affording 
 easy, speedy and cheap 
 communication. 
 
 No community of the 
 older states is more 
 orderly or law abiding than that of Colorado. During 
 the past fifteen years there has been less crime and 
 fewer deliberate murders than in most eastern districts 
 of an equal population. This speaks well for a newly 
 settled mining country, whose people are drawn from 
 all parts of the world. 10
 
 I.jn COLORADO. 
 
 So much for this land of silver and gold, of plenty 
 and prosperity; a region flatteringly spoken of by 
 visitors as "The Switzerland of America," "The 
 World's Sanitarium," and the "Sportsman's Paradise." 
 
 As has before been stated the eastern portion of 
 Colorado is occupied by the great plains, admirably 
 adapted ibr pastoral purposes and at intervals to 
 husbandry. The eastern base of the mountains is 
 flanked by the coal beds. These crop out at frequent 
 intervals in the upturned strata of the foot hills, and 
 extend out on to the plains for an unknown distance. 
 With them are associated beds of iron ore and fire 
 clay. The coal of Colorado is a lignite of very 
 superior quality. The mountain regions are composed 
 of foot-hills, parks and lofty ranges. Innumerable 
 canons and sharp and deeply cut ravines are met with 
 in every direction. Streams, many and beautiful, 
 descend from the snow-capped summits of the moun- 
 tain tops which supply power for mills and manufac- 
 tories, and water for the farms and irrigating ditches. 
 
 The mountain ranges are traversed from north to 
 south by the mineral belts, or system of lodes, in 
 which occur the precious metals, gold and silver, in 
 combination with lead and copper. These are only 
 partially explored and are found to be broken at 
 intervals by unproductive regions. The great mineral 
 belt extends through Boulder, Gilpin, Clear Creek, 
 Park and Summit counties. Broken by a slight inter- 
 val it appears in the southwest in the counties of San 
 Juan, Lake, Hinsdale, La Plata, etc. In the northern
 
 COLORADO. 147 
 
 counties, as far as discovered, it has a width of from 
 five to ten miles, and rarely twenty, and is not far from 
 one hundred and twenty miles in length. Geological 
 reports show the veins to be usually enclosed in 
 granitic and gneissic or schistose rocks of metamorphic 
 character. They present the characteristics of true 
 fissure veins, and very many of them are rich in gold, 
 silver, copper and lead. 
 
 Colorado's wealth and population has trebled since 
 the advent of the railways in 1870. Her population 
 is now upwards of 130,000, and the valuation of real 
 estate and personal property, exclusive of mines, is 
 not far from $75,000,000. She paid an internal reve- 
 nue tax in 1875, of $70,531.82, or nearly as much as 
 the states of Nevada and Vermont combined. While 
 yet a territory seven lines of railways, embracing one 
 thousand miles of road, had been built within her 
 borders. 
 
 The following table will show the growth of towns 
 and cities; the census returns of 1870 being compared 
 
 with careful estimates for the present year: 
 
 1870 1876 
 
 Denver, 4>759 21,000 
 
 Central, Black Hawk and Nevadaville, . . . 4,4°i 5;5°° 
 
 Pueblo, 666 5,5°o 
 
 Georgetown, 802 4,5oo 
 
 Boulder, 343 3,°°° 
 
 Colorado Springs, None 3,000 
 
 Greeley, 480 2,000 
 
 Golden, 587 2,000 
 
 Del Norte, None 2,000 
 
 Trinidad, 562 2,000 
 
 Lake City, None i,5°° 
 
 Rosita, None i,4Co 
 
 Canyon City, 229 1,200 
 
 Las Animas None 1,000 
 
 Spanish Peaks, None 1,000
 
 14 s COLORADO. 
 
 Beside these, Fairplay, Alma, Longmont, Evans, 
 Silver Plume, Idaho Springs Sunshine and Caribou, 
 some of them new towns, have from five hundred to 
 eight hundred inhabitants each. 
 
 Colorado's production of gold and silver for the past 
 four years, computed at currency values, was as fol- 
 lows : 1 072, $3,792,220; 1873, $4,070,000; 1874, 
 $5,362,000; 1875, $6,299,600. There was an equal 
 increase in the production of stock and of farm pro- 
 ducts. 
 
 The gold belt extends from the northern part of 
 Boulder county south through Gilpin and into Clear 
 Creek. It is again manifest in the placers and a few 
 gold veins of Park, Summit and Lake. Still further 
 south it crops out in the Sangre de Christo mountains 
 east of San Luis park, and in the Summit mountains 
 some distance southwest of that great natural basin. 
 
 The telluride belt extends for a distance of nearly 
 twenty miles in length, and about five miles in width, 
 through a portion of Boulder county. This mineral 
 is claimed to be found in the Hotchkiss and other 
 mines in Hinsdale county in southern Colorado. 
 
 The silver belt is much more extensive and contin- 
 uous than either of the others. It usually lies nearer 
 the main range, and often directly upon it, crossing 
 and recrossing it in many localities. The most north- 
 ern of the valuable veins are found in Boulder county, 
 and from that section south to New Mexico silver is 
 profitably mined in every mountain county. The 
 most prominent districts so far developed beginning
 
 COLORADO. 149 
 
 at the north are those of Boulder, Clear Creek, Park, 
 Summit, Hinsdale, San Juan and La Plata counties. 
 More silver veins have already been discovered in 
 Colorado than in the entire west beside. When de- 
 velopment is fairly under way their total yield will be 
 tenfold what it is at present. The gold veins are also 
 exceedingly rich and numerous, and show a hand- 
 some annual increase in their production. Mining 
 operations are yet in their infancy, but are rapidly 
 attracting attention and capital, which augers well for 
 the future of Colorado. 
 
 In this Rocky Mountain mineral belt there are a 
 great number of what are known as true fissure veins, 
 besides numberless spurs, feeders or offshoots from 
 the main lodes. What is called a "fissure vein" is a 
 body of gold or silver bearing quartz, inclosed in a 
 perpendicular crevice between the granite walls of the 
 country — as if the quartz had forced its way from the 
 interior of the earth, splitting the granite in rising 
 toward the surface. Different veins vary in "pitch" 
 or direction, from the perpendicular to thirty or more 
 feet in a hundred. A few are nearly flat, and those of 
 the Mount Lincoln district, in Park county, are in the 
 form of deposits, some of them egg-shaped and others 
 fiat or irregular. The coal deposits of Colorado usu- 
 ally have flat veins. 
 
 In gold and silver mines, barren or worthless 
 ground or rock of greater or less extent is met with 
 at intervals. These are called "pinches" or "caps" — 
 places where the granite walls come nearly or closely
 
 150 COLORADO. 
 
 together. But little ore of poor quality or none at all 
 is obtained in such places. This often continues for. 
 months, and sometimes the shaft is sunk for a year 
 through the hard granite before the vein or crevice 
 opens out to its natural proportions. This is what 
 has discouraged and caused the suspension of many 
 mining companies or firms who had little or no work- 
 ing capital on hand to carry them through to paying 
 ore. In the early days, when this "cap" was first met 
 with, the owners believed the mines were exhausted, 
 and declared them "played out." This caused many 
 claims and lodes to be sold for a mere song in 1859- 
 62 that were afterward made to yield hundreds of 
 thousands of dollars, and which were sold at exorbi- 
 tant prices in 1864-5, and even at later dates. Many 
 mines have been abandoned after driving the shaft 
 through a long "pinch," when subsequent work 
 proved the ore body to be but a few feet below. A 
 large proportion of those who enriched themselves in 
 working mines returned to the states, as the country 
 east of Colorado was called, sometimes selling their 
 mines on time, but often for good figures. In these 
 cases the pockets, chimneys or ore deposits had usu- 
 ally been worked out, and a considerable outlay was 
 required to find pay again, and the search was often 
 abandoned. The veins are not always true in their 
 direction, and many a miner has sunk his shaft away 
 from the crevice for a hundred feet or more and then 
 given up in despair. Many cases are reported where 
 the vein was found years afterward by the original
 
 COLORADO. I 5 I 
 
 operator, or some leaser or purchaser, who discovered 
 it by driving a cross cut or putting in a blast at the 
 side of the shaft. From all this it will be seen that 
 care, skill and good judgment are requisite for suc- 
 cessful mining, and that the lack of these has been 
 the cause of most of the failures that have occurred.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A CHAPTER ON Ml MM.. 
 
 Ccttst k o. For/in ■/• Fdilurt s ^ //</ /V* si iii Sin <■< sses Eastern 
 Oompanu s of i864-8- -Mining Then and Now— T/ie Rec- 
 ord of a Dozen Years — Reduction of Fa pi nsrs — Skilled 
 and Intelligent I<abor—What it Costs to Mine— Price 
 
 List of Labor and Supjjlk s—Di i /> Miiiiii</—Jni/jrorc<l 
 ll< i sis — Present Operations. 
 
 In order that the subject of Colorado mining will 
 be better understood, this chapter will be devoted to 
 exp'aining the causes of failures in the past, as well 
 as successes at the present time. The causes of fail- 
 ure may be briefly summed up as follows: 
 
 Twelve years ago, when the sales were made, the 
 rich ore bodies were generally temporarily exhausted 
 and the mines had reached those depths where steam 
 hoisting works became necessary. Heavy outlays 
 were consequently required at the start for machinery 
 and for sinking unknown depths for new ore bodies. 
 Another discouraging feature was the refractory char- 
 acter of the ore as depth was gained, causing much 
 difficulty and loss in milling. The free gold quartz 
 had been exhausted near the surface. 
 
 Unfortunately the companies were organized with 
 non-assessable stock and little or no working capital. 
 Consequently a few stockholders could block further
 
 COLORADO. I 5 3 
 
 operations by refusing to contribute assessments for 
 necessary development or improvement. The fatal 
 mistake was usually made of erecting an extensive 
 mill before testing or exploring the mine purchased. 
 These mills were often filled with costly machinery 
 prepared for some untried and worthless process. 
 Every move, from the purchase on to the failure, 
 seemed to be made without knowledge or proper ex- 
 amination. This arose largely from the speculative 
 character of the times. It was a grand lottery. Few 
 expected to get their money back when they invested. 
 When other operations subsequently broke them up, 
 however, they began to think of the trifling amounts 
 they had lost in Colorado mines, and have ever since 
 condemned the country. 
 
 The agents and superintendents sent to manage 
 affairs were usually incompetent, reckless, extrava- 
 gant, and entirely ignorant of mining. They were 
 usually relatives or friends of the directors or presi- 
 dent, sent here to manage great interests because they 
 were of no earthly use at home — when it is a well 
 established fact that mining and milling require as 
 much skill, attention and experience as any other call- 
 ing that can be mentioned. If the agent did evince 
 some energy or sagacity, his plans were often over- 
 ruled at the head office in New York or Boston, and 
 so were of no effect. The breaking out of the Indian 
 war on the plains very effectually blockaded the only 
 route to the mountains, causing an enormous rise in 
 the cost of freights, provisions, etc. So large a num-
 
 154 COLORADO. 
 
 ber of companies beginning operations at once, either 
 in building mills or operating mines, caused an equal 
 increase in the price of labor, so that previous esti- 
 mates or calculations were entirely inadequate. The 
 result of all this was that many companies never 
 operated their mines at all. Others gave up when 
 their pet processes proved a failure. Many that con- 
 tinued to work their mines lowing to the lack of 
 working capital and to want of authority to make 
 assessments on stock) were obliged to borrow money 
 to carry on affairs when the mine was "in cap," or 
 when their mill men did not know how to save the 
 gold. This money or working capital was raised by 
 mortgaging the mine, and moneys were often raised 
 in this manner to pay off debts that had accrued, in 
 order to escape a sheriffs sale of the property. There 
 were a number of agents who were worthy men, and 
 a few understood their business, but usually mining 
 was conducted in such a worthless, good-for-nothing 
 manner that it was impossible for it to succeed, no 
 matter how rich the mine was. Companies who had 
 good mines often became discouraged at the first call 
 for money, and shut down. The truth is, in many 
 cases, they abandoned work a little too soon. Many 
 men have leased abandoned mines from companies 
 and sunk shafts but a few feet or fathoms before 
 veins of the richest character were exposed. 
 
 Another grand cause of failure" was that the claims 
 or properties purchased were too small. For each 
 separate property required, sooner or later, steam
 
 COLORADO. I 5 5 
 
 hoisting works above it, whether it was 50 feet or 500 
 in length, and these required a heavy outlay to buy as 
 well as to keep running. A company often bought 
 single claims of a hundred feet on half a dozen lodes, 
 requiring as many sets of hoisting machinery, shafts, 
 engines, etc., for each as was necessary to operate 
 1,000 feet of contiguous territory. Consolidation is 
 one of the causes of success to-day. The foregoing 
 refers to the gold mines of Gilpin and vicinity. 
 
 Although much utterly worthless properly- was 
 purchased, there were many mines so rich, that, with 
 careful management, they should have to this day 
 proved profitable investments, notwithstanding the 
 high prices of labor and supplies. As it was, one 
 after another of these companies shut down work 
 and abandoned their mines. New companies started 
 at intervals, and individual mining was often carried 
 on successfully, but the affairs of the country were 
 not conducted on the sound, healthy basis of the 
 present day, and a gradual decline was the result as 
 far as this county was concerned. Those companies 
 that weathered the disasters of 1864-66 had a season 
 of prosperity for a time afterward. Occasionally a 
 company here and there would resume work. From 
 1869 to 1872 there was a gradual decrease in the 
 bullion product of Gilpin county, and at the latter 
 date but one or two of the old companies continued 
 to operate their mines. Considerable mining was 
 done, however, during those years by Colorado men, 
 practical miners, who had unbounded faith in the dis- 
 trict, and they were usually successful.
 
 I56 COLORADO. 
 
 The ore bodies were temporarily exhausted in so 
 many mines at about the same depth and time, that 
 there was no little doubt in the minds of many as to 
 the permanent value and character of the veins, as 
 well as to the expediency of further explorations for 
 ore. Capital was not often possessed in sufficient 
 quantities by the miners to reopen these mines, or for 
 undertakings of the required magnitude — for most of 
 
 those who had made fortunes had removed to the 
 
 1 
 
 states or had lost their money in speculations. 
 
 The causes of success, which is now the rule in- 
 stead of the exception, are improved mining and mill- 
 ing, better reducing facilities, the great reduction in 
 the price of labor and supplies, and the skill, care, 
 economy and intelligence that are displayed in all 
 branches of this industry. These are as requisite in 
 mining as in any other business or avocation, and, 
 although there is room for much improvement, great 
 progress has been made during the past decade. 
 Mining, when conducted systematically and intelli- 
 gently, offers better chances for the rapid accumula- 
 tion of wealth than any other calling. 
 
 Expenses have been reduced fifty or sixty per cent. 
 Milling has been improved until two or three times as 
 much gold is saved as formerly. Smelting and con- 
 centrating works have done much for the miner. 
 These alone are sufficient to convert the losing busi- 
 ness into one of profit. 
 
 At length skillful and experienced miners of the 
 more venturesome kind invested what capital they
 
 COLORADO. 157 
 
 possessed in opening some of these deserted mines. 
 The water was removed at great expense, shafts were 
 deepened, and levels run, in search of the wealth they 
 firmly believed lay concealed beneath. The sound- 
 ness of their judgment has been attested by the 
 splendid results that have followed deep mining as 
 conducted by Fagan, Sullivan, the Briggs brothers, 
 Buell and others on the Kansas, Burroughs, Gregory 
 and Leavitt, by Kimber, Fullerton & Co. on the Gun- 
 nell, and by the companies on the Gregory and Bob 
 Tail. The success attending these operations has 
 caused work to be resumed on many idle mines, some 
 of which are paying handsomely near the surface and 
 others at great depths. Several heavy combinations 
 on lodes, now idle or worked on a small scale, are 
 being effected by different parties, and these will in- 
 crease the gold product and working force of the 
 district largely. 
 
 At the present time mining operations are almost 
 universally conducted by individuals or firms who 
 have leased or purchased several or many contiguous 
 claims. A few years ago nearly everything was con- 
 ducted by stock companies organized at the east. 
 Many of these are now defunct. Others have sold 
 out, leased or abandoned their property. 
 
 For several years mining affairs have been getting 
 down to a paying and more economical basis. A 
 mine must pay in the long run in order to be kept 
 running — as there is no eastern capital to draw from. 
 Consequently the bright showing made at the present
 
 I58 COLORADO. 
 
 time is the result of the labor of Colorado men and 
 capital. One advantage Gilpin county has over others 
 is a railroad to the mines themselves, thus cheapening 
 expenses in bringing coal into competition with wood 
 and reducing the price of fuel. The railroad renders 
 the district accessable and desirable to those who 
 desire to cast their lot among these rugged but golden 
 ribbed mountains. Millions of tons of ore that were 
 formerly left standing in the mines, or were dumped 
 down the hill side, because they contained too little 
 gold to pay for milling, are now handled at the mines 
 and mills with profit. The saving here will be still 
 greater when the water supply is more plentiful. 
 
 The deep mines have been carried downward in 
 1875-6 from 100 to 200 feet deeper, and many shafts 
 had attained depths of from 500 to 700 feet. The val- 
 uable bodies of ore found there showed the veins to 
 be continuous and unfailing, with no dimunition, 
 but greater uniformity in their value. This caused 
 mining affairs to wear a brighter appearance. At from 
 500 to 1000 feet deep the ore deposits are found to be 
 as rich as anything that has been met with since the 
 first surface pockets were mined, and to be more ex- 
 tensive and lasting. A steady increase of bullion is 
 the result. Several of the larger mines are having 
 shafts deepened steadily, so that there may always be 
 a large body of unexhausted ground opened. The 
 Ophir -Burroughs shaft is 1,000 feet deep; the Califor- 
 nia, 740; the Briggs part of the Gregory and Gun- 
 nell, 700 feet and over; and several other mines are
 
 , COLORADO. 159 
 
 to be opened to depths of 900 or 1000 feet, without 
 delay. 
 
 Coal is being substituted for wood at many of the 
 mines and mills. The completion of the C. C. R. R., 
 puts Black Hawk in communication with the coal 
 mines and thus reduces the price of fuel. 
 
 Expenditures in Gilpin and neighboring counties 
 are about as given below. The price of labor, miners 
 supplies, milling, sinking shafts, running levels, etc., 
 will be found here. Most mining is done by contract, 
 so much per foot being paid for ground opened: 
 
 Miners, per day of ten hours, $ 2 50 to $ 3 00 
 
 Mill hands and surface men, twelve hours, 2 50 to 3 00 
 
 Machinists, eleven to twelve hours 3 50 to 4 00 
 
 Milling, per cord (7 or 8 tons), 20 00 to 25 00 
 
 Hauling, per day of ten hours 7 °° 
 
 Quicksilver, per pound, 1 00 to 1 25 
 
 Lumber, per M 25 00 to 30 00 
 
 Powder, per keg, of twenty-five pounds 4 25 
 
 Fuse, per 100 feet, I °° 
 
 Steel, per pound . 2 ° 
 
 Wrought iron, per pound 06 to 10 
 
 Castings, per pound °7 
 
 At the above figures, the cost per ton of mining 
 and milling gold ores, is from $5 to $10 per ton, and 
 the average yield, exclusive of smelting ore sold, 
 $11.60. Some of the larger veins that are developed 
 extensively and have first-class hoisting works and 
 mills immediately over the mines, are worked at a 
 total outlay of $5 or less per ton. Of such the Buell, 
 the New York, and the Briggs-Gregory are examples. 
 The Bobtail, with mills near by, is also worked at an 
 expense of from $5 to $6 per ton. The Fagan-Kansas 
 also has a mill over the mine, and thus avoids the heavy 
 expense of hauling.
 
 l6o COLORADO. 
 
 Machine drills arc coming into use and work will 
 doubtless be greatly expedited thereby, and shafts, 
 Levels and drifts opened in a fraction of the time now 
 required, and at much cheaper rates. The greater 
 part of the miners work on contract and are paid so 
 much per foot, or fathom of ground opened. The 
 price paid depends upon the character of the rock to 
 be broken — whether it is hard or soft, crevice matter 
 or granite — and the size of the crevice has much to do 
 with it. In some mines contracts are let for sinking a 
 shaft, as low as ten dollars per foot — size of shaft five 
 feet by nine —but the price varies from five to thirty 
 dollars per foot. 
 
 The total cost of sinking some of the great shafts, 
 (from seven to ten by sixteen feet), where water is very 
 troublesome, is from fifty to eighty dollars per foot. 
 Drifting or running levels, costs from ten to twenty 
 dollars. Stoping has been done at from six to twenty 
 dollars a fathom. In the above cases the miners 
 furnish their own supplies, such as powder, fuse, 
 candles, etc. 
 
 The facts and figures given above refer more par- 
 ticularly to gold mining. While the cost of labor and 
 supplies are the same in silver districts as in gold, 
 provided they are equally near or remote from rail- 
 ways, the outlays for mining, and more especially 
 milling are far greater on silver ores. Silver ores are 
 usually bought on the basis of a charge of from $35 
 to $45 per ton, according to value. No cheap process 
 is available with them. Miners who own silver mills
 
 COLORADO. l6l 
 
 are able to extract the precious metal at one-half or 
 two-thirds of the above cost. Most silver districts are 
 more remote or inaccessable than those of gold, and 
 this somewhat increases the necessary outlay. While 
 the average values of the vein or pay streak in a 
 silver mine are greater than those of gold, the veins are 
 generally smaller, entailing greater expense in open- 
 ing ground, in sinking, drifting, etc. Outside of these 
 points this chapter applies to one species of mining as 
 well as to the other. In each, equal advancment has 
 been made in mining and milling, and in reduction of 
 costs and necessary outlays. 
 
 i i
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 HOW MM PRECIOUS METALS VRE EXTRACTED 
 
 <;<>hi and Silv< r Processes Roasting and Smelting — Chlo- 
 rocHzing-roasting and Amatgoi/m(hif/— Detailed ac- 
 count of the Stamp Mill process— The Bolthoff Pul- 
 vt riz< r. 
 
 A number of processes are in use in Colorado for 
 the extraction of the precious metals. Several methods 
 of smelting are in operation which treat both gold and 
 silver ores. The most successful of these is the 
 Swansea process adapted by long experience to the 
 treatment of ores of this region. Works of this 
 character have been established at Black Hawk, Alma 
 and Golden. Other methods of smelting are con- 
 ducted at Golden, Boulder, Denver, in the San Juan 
 country and elsewhere. Roasting and amalgamating 
 are extensively carried on at Georgetown and Neder- 
 land. Chlorination and lixivation is the process used 
 at North Boulder, and about to be introduced at Lake 
 City, and there are several blast smelters in the state. 
 All of these, except the first two named treat silver 
 ore exclusively. 
 
 All Colorado silver ores require roasting as well as 
 amalgamation, thus necessitating an increase of time 
 and expense over those of some Nevada mines. Ores 
 are taken to the mill, sampled and crushed, and then 
 roasted. They are then either smelted or amalga-
 
 COLORADO. 163 
 
 mated according to the process used. The chlorodiz- 
 ing-roasting and amalgamating mills of Georgetown 
 are similar to those of the state of Nevada. The 
 reverbatory furnace and pan amalgamation comprises 
 the mode of treatment. Judd & Crosby's mill has a 
 "seven hearth furnace," through which the pulverized 
 ore is moved until thoroughly roasted, when it goes 
 to the pans. The Pelican and Nederland roast in 
 revolving (Bruckner) cylinders and amalgamate in 
 barrels. Detailed accounts of both of these methods 
 are given in the Clear Creek mining departments. 
 
 The Colorado Dressing and Smelting Company's 
 works at Golden, are similar to those at Black Hawk. 
 As they have no facilities for parting the gold and 
 silver from the matte, they ship the latter to the Boston 
 and Colorado works for separation. The blast smelt- 
 ing establishments experience some difficulty in pro- 
 curing ores carrying the desired percentage of lead. 
 More of this class of ore is found west of the range, 
 in Summit county, than in most other localities. 
 
 Gold is extracted from the quartz by the stamp mill 
 process (amalgamation) and also by the smelting 
 process, already referred to. 
 
 Almost the entire ore product of Colorado gold 
 mines is handled in stamp mills; only the more valu- 
 able qualities going to the smelter. Cheapness is the 
 redeeming feature of the former; only from forty-five 
 to sixty-five per cent, of the assay value being usually 
 saved. It is found more profitable to sell the picked 
 or first-class ores to the smelter, for while they are
 
 1"| COLOR a no. 
 
 usually bought on the basis of a charge of from $35 to 
 $45 per ton, as against a charge of $2.00 and $3.00 in 
 the mills, the returns are nearly double. Ninety-seven 
 per cent, of gold saved, as against forty or fifty, counts 
 heavily in favor of the miner on very valuable ore. It will 
 be seen that stamp mills are preferable on most ores con- 
 taining 'ess than $75 per ton in gold, but not on those 
 assaying above that figure. No silver or copper to 
 amount to anything are saved under the stamps, while 
 the smelter recovers as large a proportion of them as 
 gold, which is another point in his favor. Concen- 
 trating works like those of Collom at Black Hawk, 
 however, render certain classes of low grade mineral 
 available for the smelter. 
 
 The stamp mill process is a very imperfect one, but 
 has been vastly improved during the past fifteen years. 
 From forty-five to sixty-five per cent, of the gold is 
 saved, as proved by assays of ore, or double what was 
 once obtained. A larger percentage is sometimes 
 saved, especially when blankets are used, and when 
 tailings bring good prices as at present. The actual 
 cost of treating most ores in stamp mills, without 
 counting the general wear and tear of machinery, is 
 $15 or $16 per cord, or $2.00 per ton. These are the 
 figures given by men who own or operate mines, and 
 handle their own ore in steam mills. Where the mills 
 are run by water-power, the expense is considerably 
 less. Custom mills charge miners from $20 to $25 
 per cord, or from $2.50 to $3.50 per ton. A few mills 
 when run by water-power in the summer season have 
 treated ores at the low charge of $18 per cord.
 
 COLORADO. 165 
 
 The ore, in which the gold is generally distributed 
 in infinitesmal particles, is crushed to powder by the 
 stamps. Under this crushing process, the gold falls 
 to the bottom of the mortars, and uniting with 
 quicksilver, forms an amalgam, from which it is sub- 
 sequently separated ; quicksilver being used to catch 
 and retain the gold. 
 
 The mortars into which the ore is shoveled and in 
 which it is crushed are simple iron troughs twelve or 
 fourteen inches wide and nine or ten deep, resting on 
 solid wood foundations, on and above which is sta- 
 tioned the heavy frame work containing the stamps or 
 batteries. A steady stream of water flows into these 
 while the stamps rise and fall and the crushing goes 
 on. What is called a battery usually contains five 
 stamps, but often four or six, each stamp having a 
 weight of from four hundred and fifty to seven hun- 
 dred and fifty pounds — five hundred being the most 
 common in Colorado quartz mills. These iron stamps 
 rise and fall from twelve to eighteen inches, with a 
 revolving motion, from eighteen to thirty-five times 
 per minute. They are ten or twelve feet high and 
 consist of a stem, head, shoe, and a collar by means 
 of which the cam raises the stamp, as narrated above, 
 while the ore is crushed. 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 stem are 
 thicker, and made of steel or hardened iron. The 
 stamps or batteries within the wooden frame work are 
 connected with a cam shaft running the entire length
 
 1 66 COLORADO. 
 
 of the batteries, or the mill, or portion of it, if a large 
 one. This is driven by a geared wheel, though the 
 shaft carrying thedriving pinion is commonly oper- 
 ated by belting. 
 
 With the exception of the Briggs mill, which has 
 issues on either side, the ore as it is crushed is forced 
 or washed through sheet iron screens, fastened on the 
 side of the batteries opposite that where the feeding 
 is done, on to inclined copper plated tables usually 
 eight or nine feet long, and four or five wide, or the 
 width of the battery. Quicksilver is fed into the bat- 
 teries as often as the mill man finds it necessary, 
 while the crushing continues. Quicksilver is also 
 used on the copper plated tables and the composition 
 tables to retain and secure the gold in the form of 
 amalgam (quicksilver and gold,) while the water car- 
 ries the light dirt and the waste material on to the 
 creek. This latter material goes by the name of tail- 
 ings, and these are usually subject to a washing or 
 concentrating process and then sold to the smelting 
 works at paying prices for the gold, silver and cop- 
 per they contain and for their fluxing qualities. 
 
 The batteries and plates of the tables are cleaned 
 up at intervals — in some places once a day and in 
 others, once in three or four clays — and the amalgam 
 that has collected is removed. Blankets are used on 
 many tables, and Bartola, Chillian and other pans, 
 assist the gold saving operations in many mills when 
 the more refractory ores are met with. The amalgam 
 after being skimmed and cleaned is pressed in a cloth
 
 COLORADO. 167 
 
 so as to squeeze out as much of the quicksilver as 
 possible, when the remainder is retorted and the crude 
 bullion is then sold at the bank at from fifteen to 
 eighteen dollars or more, per ounce. Gold from differ- 
 ent mines varies considerably in fineness, the quantity 
 of silver having much to do with this. The average 
 fineness of this mill gold or retort is seven hundred 
 and eighty-seven parts pure gold to one hundred and 
 ninety-eight parts pure silver and fifteen parts copper. 
 The retorts used are conical pots of cast iron, which 
 in the large mills are of a size holding from one hun- 
 dred to three hundred ounces. The bullion obtained 
 is usually one-fourth to one-third and sometimes one- 
 half of the original quantity of amalgam. The quick- 
 silver after being condensed is recovered for further 
 use. 
 
 The pulp or slimes after passing from the mill are 
 buddled and sold to smelting works, as stated above, 
 at their assay value, less $22. This price is better 
 than in previous years, when $26 and $28 per ton was 
 retained. Formerly no effort was made to save these 
 tailings and they were allowed to wash down the 
 creek or gulch. Their importance may be estimated 
 from the fact that they often increase the receipts of 
 a lot of ore from five to twenty per cent, clear of 
 expenses incurred in saving them. It is estimated 
 that eight or ten tons of ore crushed in the mill will 
 form one ton of slimes or tailings, or that quantity 
 can be saved. Were #12 received for all of these per 
 ton, the yield of the total amount of ore crushed
 
 1 68 COLORADO. 
 
 / 
 
 would be increased in value $1.50, or nearly that sum 
 per ton. With the aid of huddled tailings it is claimed 
 that some stamp mills on favorable ores obtain from 
 sixty-five to eighty per cent, of the assay value. In Gil- 
 pin, 5,000 tons of these buddled tailings were sold last 
 year to the smelting works, or something over one- 
 third of what could have been saved. These works 
 require them for fluxing purposes, to mix with the 
 ores to be smelted, and the company in January last 
 contracted for all of the tailings from the leading 
 mills, paying the assay value of them, less $22, and 
 when those terms do not pay, the seller's expenses of 
 transportation are paid. Some of them contain much 
 gold and others are quite lean. 
 
 The Bolthoff Pulverizer and Amalgamator, is the 
 name of a new mill to be used in place of stamps. It 
 was invented by Henry Bolthoff, of the Hendrie Broth- 
 ers & Bolthoff foundry, at Central, and is apparantly 
 doing good work. Its cost is $1,200 to $1,500 accor- 
 ding to size of the machine, being much cheaper than 
 a stamp mill of equal capacity. It is operated cheaper 
 as much less propelling power is required. These 
 pulverizers are used in several localities successfully. 
 The same kind of tables are used with stamp mills. 
 Professor G. H. Gray, Territorial assayer, thus alludes 
 to this machine in his last annual report: 
 
 " It consists of a revolving cylinder five feet in diam- 
 eter, containing about 1,000 pounds of balls; it is fed 
 with ore and water from a hopper running through the 
 centre; the bars around the periphrey have rectangu-
 
 COLORADO. 169 
 
 lar slots, which allow the ore to pass through and 
 come in contact with the quicksilver which is contained 
 in recesses outside the bars. By this device the ore is 
 kept in almost constant contact with the quicksilver. 
 After the ore has become sufficiently fine to float, it 
 discharges from the centre and flows over amalgama- 
 ted copper plates in the same manner as in stamp mills. 
 The capacity of the mill is equal to eighteen stamps 
 by actual test. It pulverizes much finer and at less 
 cost per ton, than stamps. The exact per cent of sav- 
 ing over stamps, has not yet been ascertained. The 
 present year will give it a much more thorough test 
 than it has had heretofore.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 GILPIN O IT NTY. 
 
 The Richest Gold District of the World— Geological 
 
 /•', ni'in s—Its Towns and Cities -L'nihray Connection 
 —Quick Mining and Lode Mining— Methods o/JSxtrat <- 
 inn the Gold — Location of tin Mines, etc 
 
 Gilpin, although much the smallest county in Col- 
 orado, is said to contain the most valuable mineral 
 deposits in the world, when size and number of veins 
 and quantity of ore is taken into consideration. It is 
 separated from the plains by portions of Boulder and 
 Jefferson counties, from which it extends south and 
 west to the crest of the main range of the Rocky 
 Mountains. It is composed of rugged hills, mountains 
 and ravines, once heavily timbered, but now partially 
 bald and bare. The county varies in elevation from 
 7,500 to 1 1,000 feet above sea level, and from 2,500 to 
 6,000 feet above the level of the plains at Denver. 
 Mining is almost the only industry, although farming 
 is carried on successfully. The population is found 
 mainly in the towns of Nevadaville, Central and Black 
 Hawk, which, together, number 5,500 inhabitants. 
 The county is bounded by Boulder on the north, Jef- 
 ferson on the east, Clear Creek county on the south, 
 and Grand county on the west — the main range of the 
 mountains forming the dividing line with the latter. 
 
 Nevadaville is about 8,900 feet above sea level, and
 
 P'fPPlf "M
 
 
 
 COLORADO. 173 
 
 is situated in Nevada gulch, between those famous 
 depositories of wealth, Quartz and Gunnell hills. One 
 mile east, and six hundred feet lower, is the business 
 centre of Central. Here Nevada, Spring and Eureka 
 gulches unite and form Gregory gulch, along which 
 the city extends eastwardly to Black Hawk. The 
 last named city is built in the lower parts of Gregory 
 and Chase gulches, and on North Clear Creek, into 
 which the former streams empty. Towering far above 
 these places are a number of lofty mountains, among 
 which Gunnell, Casto, Mammoth, Gregory, Bobtail, 
 Quartz and Bates, are famed for their immense mineral 
 deposits. Beneath the gulches, streets and hill 
 sides, mining is carried on to depths of hundreds of 
 feet, while along the streams and busy thoroughfares 
 the noise of the stamp mill never ceases. The central 
 part of Black Hawk is five hundred feet lower than 
 the business portion of Central, and one mile further 
 east. These places form almost one continuous city 
 for over three miles. Trade, banking, etc., are mainly 
 conducted at Central, while the smelting works and a 
 majority of the stamp mills are located at Black 
 Hawk. 
 
 So restricted is the space for building that streets 
 and residences are built in tiers, one above the other, 
 up the hill sides, and at one or two points but a single 
 street maintains its winding way between the over- 
 hanging hills and rocky bluffs. But the gold is here 
 and that started the towns and retains the people. 
 Notwithstanding its unfavorable location, Central can
 
 1J4 COLORADO. 
 
 boast of substantial blocks and streets of brick and 
 stone that would do honor to much older and larger 
 cities, and Black Hawk is not far behind her. Hand- 
 some mercantile and banking houses and neat and 
 attractive residences attest to the wealth and prosperity 
 of the community. The Teller House is one of the 
 largest and most costly hotel buildings west of St. 
 Louis. The industries and local interests of the 
 county are advocated by the Central City Register and 
 the Black Hawk Post. 
 
 Central has three sound and well conducted banks, 
 all doing a good business. These banks purchase or 
 ship from $125,000 to $200,000 worth of gold, etc., 
 monthly. 
 
 There is also an elegant theatre building, a fine 
 public school library — the largest in the state — and a 
 well organized fire department, water works, etc. 
 
 These three places, two of which are incorporated 
 cities, contain nine churches, some of them elegant and 
 costly stone edifices. The public schools and school 
 buildings compare with those of eastern cities. The 
 Central and Black Hawk school buildings cost $24,000 
 and $14,000, respectively, and St. Aloysius academy, 
 $14,000. Many of the business houses carry heavy 
 stocks of goods and do a very large annual trade. 
 
 Railway communication is afforded with Denver, 
 Boulder and the world by means of the Colorado 
 Central railroad, via Clear Creek Canon. Well con- 
 ducted stage lines connect with Caribou on the north, 
 Idaho Springs and Georgetown on the south, and the 
 Middle Park on the west.
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 175 
 
 The gold district of Gilpin county, or the Central 
 gold region, is almost entirely comprised in a space a 
 little over two miles in length by from one half a mile 
 to a mile in width — these limits including most of the 
 
 EUREKA STREET, CENTRAL CITY. 
 
 valuable portion. A silver belt of smaller dimensions 
 lies to the south and passes by a westerly course into 
 Clear Creek county.
 
 If" COLORADO. 
 
 In the above mentioned gold belt are thousands of 
 lodes, spurs and claims that have been recorded, many 
 of them of wonderful richness. This district contains 
 more valuable lodes, developed and undeveloped with 
 probably more wealth deposited therein, than any 
 known mining district in the world. Over sixteen 
 thousand claims have been recorded in this county 
 altogether, representing several thousand lodes and 
 veins. From these came the gold that was once 
 found so plentifully in the ravines, low grounds and 
 streams. The average yield per ton of ore is said to 
 exceed that of any gold district outside of Colorado. 
 
 Gulch mining is still carried on in Russell and Lake 
 gulches, and their tributaries, and in North Clear 
 Creek below Black Hawk. At the latter point Alex. 
 Cameron introduced Chinese labor in 1873, and had 
 one hundred and fifteen of these laborers at work in 
 1874, but finally discarded them in favor of white 
 men, whom he now considers more desirable and 
 effective. Gulch mining at Russell and vicinity is 
 carried on in the summer season by means of water 
 from the Consolidated Ditch. About fifty men find 
 employment there at present where at one time a 
 thousand found "good pay." The richest of the gulch 
 diggings were exhausted during the five years begin- 
 ning with 1859 and ending with 1864. Although 
 they arc quite limited at present enough remains for 
 profitable work for five years to come. Unlike gulch 
 or placer ground, lode mining never gives out. The 
 veins of Gilpin county vary from a few inches to ten
 
 COLORADO. 177 
 
 or twenty feet in width — two or three feet being the 
 most common size. They often carry valuable ore for 
 their entire width. To use common phrases they 
 "widen out" at one point or "pinch up" at another — 
 disclose a "pocket, ore chimney or bonanza, " or "go 
 into cap." 
 
 The country rock of Gilpin is gneiss or granite, in 
 which the veins occur, with a course, generally five to 
 ten degrees north of east and west, and mostly taking 
 a direction between east and west and northeast and 
 southwest, but there are some exceptions to this. The 
 decomposed surface rock of these veins usually extends 
 down seventy or eighty feet. Below this comes the 
 copper, iron pyrites, or sulphurets of iron and copper, 
 carrying a large percentage of gold. 
 
 The methods of extracting the gold or precious 
 metals from the ore in this district are restricted to 
 stamp milling and smelting, a small proportion only 
 being handled by the last named process. The fail- 
 ure of the mills to save the gold in 1862-3-4, after 
 the surface quartz was exhausted and about the time 
 so many eastern companies began work, was due to 
 the inexperience of the mill men. The process mania 
 that followed from 1864 to '67, was still worse and its 
 damaging effects are still felt. The stamp mill process 
 was reinstated where discarded, and is found to be the 
 only practicable treatment for low grade gold ores in 
 Colorado. 
 
 The veins of this district are often immensely rich 
 in certain localities at and near the surface. Almost 
 12
 
 i;S COLORADO. 
 
 fabulous amounts arc reported of the rich yield of the 
 "slide" and surface quartz of Gregory, Hates, Bobtail, 
 Kansas, and other lodes. Thousands of dollars were 
 cleared by poor men in a few weeks, or a single season. 
 From five to twenty dollars per pan were often washed 
 out, and hundreds of dollars per ton of dirt were some- 
 times ol tained. When the miners got down to the 
 iron the veins were found to be less rich but more 
 lasting and consequently surer objects of investment. 
 
 In the lower part of this district are Bates, Bobtail, 
 and Gregory hills, divided by gulches and intersected 
 with the lodes of the same name and the Running, Fisk, 
 Gregory Second and others. Above is Mammoth hill 
 with the Buell, Hunter, German, Kip, O. K. and the 
 Mammoth. The latter is considered the great mother 
 vein from or to which other lodes drift more or less 
 directly — yet its ore is usually of low grade. 
 
 West of Central is Casto hill containing the Win- 
 nebago and other mines seemingly of a less uniform 
 character than those already named. Rising from the 
 city of Central, Gunnell hill extends to the westward. 
 Its great vein is the Gunnell, with which as with the 
 Mammoth, Kansas, and others, numberless lodes and 
 spurs unite like branches to a tree. On the upper part 
 of Gunnell hill are the Prize, Suderberg, Jones and 
 Hubert lodes. 
 
 Quartz hill is a mile and a half in length and is sit- 
 uated southwest of Central and directly south of Neva- 
 daville. This is one of the most wonderful forma- 
 tions in the known world. It is one vast network of 
 veins with here and there huge deposits of ore — some
 
 COLORADO. 179 
 
 of them of immense value. Millions of dollars have 
 been obtained therefrom, and "there's millions in it" 
 yet — and many times what has come out of it. There 
 are two or three grand mother lodes, into which the 
 others gravitate, and some claim these are offshoots of 
 the Mammoth on the west. These are the Kansas, 
 the longest well defined lode in the county — the Bur- 
 roughs — and further south on this eastern and northern 
 slope of the hill, for a distance of nearly a mile, extends 
 what is known at different points as the Borton, Rod- 
 erick Dhu, Gardner, California, Hidden Treasure and 
 Indiana. All of these veins on the northern slope of 
 Quartz hill dip to the south, but in less degree as the 
 summit is approached. 
 
 From the eastern part of the hill, and also crossing 
 the rich surface of the "Patch," comes the Illinois. 
 Nearly in a line further west is the Egyptian, and on 
 the extreme summit the Alps and Mackie. Here the 
 veins are nearly vertical. 
 
 South of Quartz hill are groups of veins located in 
 and around Leavenworth, Russell and Lake gulches. 
 Through this section the Consolidated Ditch takes its 
 course. Flourishing towns stood here in the palmy 
 days of gulch mining, and work is still conducted 
 profitably on a small scale. This locality and North 
 Clear creek comprise about all of the surface diggings 
 of the county. 
 
 Still further south the silver belt comes in from 
 North Clear creek and extends over Virginia moun- 
 tain into Clear Creek county. These silver veins are 
 large and often rich in silver and lead.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 minim; STATISTICS OF GILPIN COUNTY. 
 
 Resumption of work in the deep .Vines— Bullion products 
 compared by Years and Months— Export of Stamp 
 Mills and Smelting Works— Fineness of Bullion— Per- 
 centage of Loss— Facts and Figures — $28,000,000 in 
 Qnlrf— The Consolidated Ditch— Depth and, yield of the 
 Leading Mim 8. 
 
 Mining operations in Gilpin county for the past four 
 years have been largely of a preparatory character 
 for more extensive and regular production hereafter. 
 Yet there has been a steady increase in the bullion 
 yield and in the general prosperity of the district. 
 This gratifying condition of affairs has been brought 
 about almost entirely by the expenditure of local cap- 
 ital and labor, no eastern money in any large amount 
 having been invested during that time. Many mines 
 were filled with water when leased by Colorado miners 
 and its action had sadly damaged them. Much time 
 and money was required to remove water and place 
 the mines in a safe condition. When this had been 
 done it was generally necessary to deepen the shaft or 
 to "sink" in search of paying ore — for the ore bodies 
 had been worked out in many cases by the companies 
 or original owners. All of this required no little labor 
 and money as well as faith in the value of the mines. 
 Further than this, it must be bestowed on the property
 
 COLORADO. 1 8 1 
 
 of far away corporations. And yet such operations 
 were undertaken and successfully carried out, with 
 outlays of from ten to forty thousand dollars, before 
 any returns were obtained. Long leases and purchases 
 were not uncommon. What eastern capitalists lacked 
 the nerve to do was done by those whose earnings had 
 been obtained by years of labor with the pick and 
 shovel. 'Several miners would often combine their 
 scanty capital and if that gave out they would go 
 back and work for wages until another "stake" was 
 raised and then start in again on the mine. They 
 would often be heavily in debt when the rich ore body 
 was finally uncovered. When this could be done by 
 those destitute of sufficient funds to purchase the nec- 
 essary machinery to operate with economically, it can 
 easily be seen how much more could have been at- 
 tained had capital in sufficient quantities been at their 
 disposal. 
 
 What is considered profitable ore in most gold 
 mines yields in the mills from $10 to $20 per ton, and 
 of course, assays considerably higher. Large veins 
 that are well opened with deep shafts, long levels, 
 powerful hoisting machinery and ample milling facili- 
 ties, can return a profit on much poorer ore, as their 
 total outlays are but five or six dollars per ton. 
 
 The bullion product of Gilpin county for the past 
 
 four years was as follows : 
 
 1872 $1,389,289 00 
 
 1873 1,530,000 00 
 
 1874 1,631,863 00 
 
 1875 1,763,985 48
 
 [82 COLORADO. 
 
 The present rate of production indicates a yield of 
 over $2 ,000,000 for 1876. With a plentiful water sup- 
 ply, which can be obtained at a moderate outlay, this 
 could be doubled in succeeding years. The figures 
 given above for 1872, 'y$ and '74. are about $25,000 
 too much in each case, as that amount of gold credited 
 as coming from this county and shipped by the Central 
 banks, came from gulch diggings and lode veins in 
 Clear Creek county. The amount given for 1875 is 
 correct and the gold purchased by the banks from 
 other districts is not included therein. The burning 
 of the shaft house and hoisting 'works on the Gunnell 
 gold property in September will cause the falling off 
 of over $25,000 per month from the gold shipments 
 for the remainder of the year. The heavy snow and 
 flooding of the mines in May also caused a serious 
 loss. 
 
 The bullion yield for 1875, for Gilpin county or the 
 Central mines was as follows; 
 
 Gold $1, 598,063 05 
 
 Silver 112,482 43 
 
 Copper 51,000 ou 
 
 Lead z,44° oo 
 
 Total $1,763,985 48 
 
 The same was derived from the following sources ; 
 
 rhe Stamp mills turned out £1,240,109 08 
 
 Hoston and Colorado sinewing works 502,00000 
 
 Ore sold to Golden works and elsewhere and jewelers 
 
 Hold 21,876 40 
 
 Total $1,763,985 48 
 
 Of the bullion obtained from the mills $1,221,627.08 
 was gold and $ 18,482.00, silver. Of that from the
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 183 
 
 smelting works $357,600 was gold, $94,000 silver and 
 $51,000 copper. These figures allow a premium of 
 sixteen cents on gold, which is about the average for 
 1875. 
 
 The following is the currency value of mill gold by 
 months : 
 
 January $ 99.933 53 
 
 February 72,868 30 
 
 March . . '. 87,610 05 
 
 April 9°,734 97 
 
 May 85,097 51 
 
 June 110,667 78 
 
 July 107,036 60 
 
 August "9,°34 23 
 
 September "2,755 35 
 
 October 109,563 °° 
 
 November 112,308 90 
 
 December !3 2 ,499 4° 
 
 Total $1,240,109 08 
 
 The coin value of mill gold shipments for the years 
 18^4, 1875 and nine months of 1876, compared by 
 months was as follows : 
 
 January . . 
 February . 
 March . . . 
 April . . . 
 May . . . 
 June . . . 
 July . . . . 
 August . . 
 September 
 October . . 
 November . 
 December . 
 
 1874 
 
 Total $1,036,022 $1,068,198 35 
 
 % 53.280 
 
 72,39 6 
 85,129 
 79,691 
 
 104,244 
 
 105,712 
 83,943 
 78,039 
 84,469 
 
 100,596 
 76,774 
 
 111,769 
 
 1875 
 
 1876 
 
 $ 86,149 56; $ 87 
 62,817 
 
 75.526 
 78,219 80 1 
 
 73,359 92 j 
 
 95,403 25! 
 
 92,272 80 
 102,615 2I 
 
 96,340 81 
 
 94,450 86 j 
 
 96,818 01 ■ 
 114,223 67 
 
 76 
 
 420 61 
 615 10 
 136 74 
 568 69 
 324 07 
 
 588 88 
 346 52 
 733 °7 
 189 63 
 
 The figures from April 1st, to October I, 1876,
 
 lS. ( 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 while they may not be perfectly accurate, cannot be 
 but a very few dollars out of the way. This shows 
 that very nearly as much gold was produced in nine 
 months of 1876 as in either of the entire years previ- 
 ous. Nine months of 1876, gave a yield of $981,923.3 1 
 as against $762,705.61, in the corresponding months 
 of the previous year. Hut this does not show the 
 full increase, as the Colorado Dressing and Smelting 
 Company, commenced operations in April, and have 
 purchased a large quantity of ore of the class formerly 
 sent to the stamp mills. The yield from Gilpin county 
 ores sold to this company and to the Golden smelting 
 works, has been something like $125,000.00, which 
 would make a total, principally from low grade ores, 
 of $1,106,823.31, or a gain of forty-five per cent. A 
 portion of this is sunk in furnace bottoms, so that it 
 will not find its way into the channels of commerce. 
 The Boston and Colorado works have exported more 
 gold than during any previous time of the same length. 
 A banker's statement from the records of several 
 months' purchases of gold, gives the following in 
 regard to the finenes of gold and silver, and the coin 
 value per ounce of crude bullion : 
 
 FINENESS 
 IN GOLD. 
 
 FINENESS 
 
 803 % to 816 
 
 849^ to 866^ 
 
 746 
 
 833^ to 820 
 
 COIN VALUE OF 
 CKUDE BULLION. 
 
 Briggs . . 
 Bobtail . . 
 Bates . . . 
 Borroughs 
 Illinois . . 
 
 172 to 180 
 
 128 to 140 
 
 241 
 
 158 to 166 
 
 211 
 
 <i6 31 to 17 01 
 17 00 to 17 82 
 
 14 29 
 16 93 to 16 58 
 
 15 99
 
 COLORADO. 185 
 
 The gold ores of Gilpin county contain about #1.00 
 in silver to $4.00 in gold or about 1 ounce of gold to 
 3.90-100 ounces of silver. The average fineness of 
 the gold of the county is .787 in gold .198 in silver 
 and .015 in copper. The percentage of silver is gen- 
 erally much higher in the mines at, and around 
 Nevadaville, and the value of the bullion consequently 
 less, while at the eastern or lower end of the district 
 the gold percentage is higher and the bullion is more 
 valuable. The retorts from the mines on Quartz hill 
 are examples of the first mentioned class. Kent county 
 gold usually sells for $16 an ounce in currency, Kan- 
 sas runs down from #18 at the eastern end to $16 at 
 the western. Gunnell gold is worth about $18.50. 
 Gold from the Buell, Fiske, Gregory and Bobtail, 
 examples of the class where the percentage of gold 
 is higher, usually sells for $19 per ounce in currency. 
 
 The amount of ore treated in 1875 was 106,900 tons 
 in the stamp mills and about 3,500 tons in the smelt- 
 ing works. About 5,000 tons of buddled tailings 
 from the stamp mills were also used at the latter, and 
 about 50 tons of lead ore have been sold out of the 
 country. The average yield of the mill and smelting 
 ore per ton was therefore $15.93; of the mill ore alone 
 $11.60, and of the smelting ore between $96 and $100 
 per ton. The latter comprised the very rich ores 
 usually selected from a large quantity of ore mined, 
 forming in some mines 10 per cent, of the whole, and 
 in others only 2 or 3. In some mines the average of 
 mill ore was below the average of all given above,
 
 1 86 COLORADO. 
 
 mi .60) as with the Gregory, and in many like the 
 Kansas, Burroughs, Gunnell and others, it was much 
 higher. But the quality of ore of the same mine varies 
 greatly, being rich in one place and poor in another. 
 A large portion of the ore treated comes from a mul- 
 titude of mines or prospect holes, some of which runs 
 so poorlv as to fail to pay for crushing, when the 
 miner moves to some other mine or vein to try his 
 luck. An old mill man says the outlook is very 
 encouraging when only one-fourth of the ore goes far 
 below expenses, another fourth barely meets them, 
 and the remaining half more than pays expenses. 
 But this is for the general mass of ore that is brought 
 to custom mills from a large number of small mines 
 as well as a few large ones. 
 
 The average number of mills running in Gilpin 
 county in 1875 was 22, and of stamps 440. 
 
 The excellent report of Geo. H. Gray, Territorial 
 Assayer, for the year 1875, has the following: 
 
 "Boston & Colorado Smelting Works. Amount of 
 ore treated from Gilpin county, 3,500 tons; average 
 value 4.25 ounces gold and 15.75 ounces silver; aver- 
 age price paid by the works, $45 ; ores assayed about 
 3 per cent copper. These works also treated 5> 00 ° 
 tons of buddled tailings, averaging 1.03 ounces of 
 gold and 4 ounces silver. The gold contained in the 
 ores is to the silver as I to 3.5. Fifty tons of lead ore 
 were sold out of the county during the year at an 
 average price of $30. The average yield of the mill
 
 COLORADO. 1 87 
 
 stamps is about 50 per cent, of the assay value of the 
 ore, although some mills have saved as high as 65 per 
 cent. 
 
 Stamp mill returns $1,250,040.00 
 
 Buddled tailings from mills, 5,000 tons at S34.20 per ton 171,000 
 
 1,421,040 
 The assay value of 106,900 tons at $23.20 per ton is . . 2,506,080.00 
 
 This shows a loss of 43.1 per cent, of the assay 
 value, or of #1,079,040. 
 
 Although only 5,000 tons of buddled tailings were 
 saved, 15,000 could have been saved, and probably 
 nearly that amount will be hereafter. The loss given 
 above is certainly to be regretted, but shows a great 
 improvement over the earlier years of the country, 
 when only one million in seven or eight was saved, 
 while the remainder was washed down the creeks." 
 
 Twenty-eight million dollars or more in gold bul- 
 lion have been obtained from the lode mines and from 
 the gulches of Gilpin county, since the first discov- 
 eries were made in 1859. The most productive years 
 were 1863, 1869, 1875 and 1876. Those dates repre- 
 sent the most successful years, first of individual and 
 surface mining, second of company mining in deep 
 mines, and lastly of still deeper mining by individuals 
 and practical and experienced miners. 
 
 In 1875 less than 1,300 men were directly engaged 
 in mining and milling and their connections with a 
 return of #1,763,985.48. Had this been equally divi- 
 ded, each man employed would have received over 
 #1,300, or every man woman and child in the mining 
 towns and camps, would have received #300.
 
 1 88 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 Besides the yield from the mines the large number 
 of fertile and productive ranches located between the 
 mountains and on the sloping hill sides have proved 
 extremely remunerative. Their crops are bountiful 
 and often enormous, returning large profits to the 
 farmer. 
 
 The following gives the names and yield, and depth 
 of the deepest shafts of most of the leading lodes 
 of Gilpin county: 
 
 Gregory 
 
 Bobtail . 
 Gunnel) . 
 
 Burroughs 
 
 Buell 
 
 Bates and Bates and Hunter 
 
 Kansas 
 
 Roderick Dhu 
 
 Gardner 
 
 California 
 
 Hidden Treasure and Indiana . 
 
 Alps and Mackie 
 
 Flack 
 
 Forks 
 
 DEPTH OF 
 SHAFT. 
 
 TOTAL 
 PRODUCT. 
 
 j 650 
 
 ( 770 
 
 650 
 
 700 
 
 f 5oo 
 
 < IOOO 
 
 I 587 
 
 55° 
 
 r 300 
 
 < 400 
 
 ( 350 
 
 627 
 
 (nil • 
 590 
 450 
 
 550 
 400 
 71" 
 400 
 41 o 
 
 450 
 
 600 
 
 5'7 
 
 J8.571.764 
 
 4,000,000 
 2,500,000 
 
 1,500,000 
 
 850,000 
 
 81 o,000 
 
 (»»,,.*,., 
 (in ,,i.-. 
 
 100,000 
 
 500,000 
 250,000 
 500,000 
 
 There are many other lodes, possibly as good as 
 some of the above, that have yielded all the way from 
 $500,000 down to $50,000. 
 
 Succeeding pages will contain facts, figures and 
 notes concerning many of the mines of Gilpin. It
 
 COLORADO. 1 89 
 
 is not claimed that this list contains all of the valuable 
 mines. Of the multitude that the district contains 
 only a portion can be noticed in this brief work. 
 Many mines that are worked on a small scale are 
 unnoticed, and probably many that are as good as 
 some of those this article refers to, are omitted. Others 
 that are idle or abandoned are not mentioned — and 
 some of these may soon be alive with miners, and 
 ranking among the first producers. But all mines 
 that are operated on a large scale are given space and 
 attention. 
 
 The figures of the bullion yield of the county for 
 1875, are more accurate than those given for any pre- 
 vious year. The yields of the mines are in many 
 cases taken from the books of the owners or lessees, 
 or from the banks. In other cases estimates, or the 
 yield in round numbers, have been obtained from the 
 present or past owners. The exact figures of the pro- 
 duct of the mines since their discovery cannot be given 
 because they have usually changed hands so many 
 times that all of the records are not obtainable. What 
 is remarkable is the very large number of lodes that 
 have yielded from one to ten thousand dollars or from 
 ten thousand to half a million. 
 
 The Consolidated Ditch, ten miles in length and 
 bringing water from Fall River to Russell district and 
 adjacent localities, was completed in July, i860, at an 
 outlay of $100,000. It was built to render the surface 
 deposits, or gulch diggings, available, which without 
 water were worthless. It has since been of service to
 
 1 90 COLORADO. 
 
 stamp mills. It is an open ditch and furnishes water 
 from May to November. Its completion largely 
 increased the gold product, especially in the upper 
 and southern parts of the county. For years schemes 
 have been projected for increasing the water supply of 
 Nevadaville and Central, which is entirely inadequate. 
 Water powers are needed at and near the mines, and 
 can be obtained only by the introduction of water 
 from Fall River. It is pretty well settled that the 
 Consolidated Ditch owners possess the only available 
 water right or franchise. The county has voted one 
 hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth of bonds for 
 the purpose of introducing water, and probably this 
 franchise will be purchased. 
 
 The plan is to improve this ditch by laying pipe 
 the entire distance — that there may be no waste of 
 water — and to change its course by cutting through 
 the divide south of Bald mountain, and thus let the 
 water down through Nevadaville along the base of 
 Quartz hill. The sum voted is amply sufficient to 
 accomplish this. By this means, it is claimed, nearly 
 one thousand inches of water can be obtained eight 
 months of the year, and one half that quantity nearly 
 or quite all of the remaining months. Forty or fifty 
 mill powers, of thirty-three and one third feet fall 
 each, would then be obtainable in Nevadaville and 
 Central, besides power for hoisting purposes at the 
 various mines. The benefits resulting from the accom- 
 plishment of this project would be immense. 
 
 Milling and hoisting expenses would be reduced
 
 COLORADO. 191 
 
 thirty per cent, by the substitution of water for steam 
 power, and the large outlays for hauling quartz would 
 be avoided with mills at or close by the mines ; and 
 mines that cannot now be worked successfully, would 
 then yield a profit, and the number of men employed 
 and the amount of bullion produced would be doubled. 
 This project has been reviewed at length, because 
 past results cannot compare with what will be achieved 
 after the introduction of a plentiful supply of water.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 STAMP MILLS ANli SMELTING WORKS. 
 
 List of Mills in Operation — Details Regarding Several 
 Mills— Thi Work of a Year— The Colorado Smelting 
 idkI Dressing Company. 
 
 Well developed gold mines in Gilpin county send 
 from one tenth to one fortieth of their ore to the 
 smelter — that being the proportion of very valuable 
 ore produced. The remaining ore goes to the stamp 
 mills unless sold to the dressing works. The average 
 number of mills running in 1875 was twenty two, and 
 of stamps four hundred and forty. There were about 
 106,900 tons of ore crushed, yielding an average of 
 $1 1.60 per ton. The average amount of ore crushed 
 in twenty-four hours by each stamp, was three-fourths 
 of a ton. 
 
 The increase of mining and of ore, started several 
 idle mills in motion in April and May, 1876. These 
 were the Consolidated Gregory, fifty stamps ; the Miley, 
 (bought by Wheeler & Co.,) twenty-five stamps ; Sen- 
 senderfer and Eagle, each with twenty stamps ; Lake's 
 (water mill), fifteen stamps. One new mill — Pot- 
 ter's—of twenty-five stamps, was built in 1875, twenty- 
 five stamps were added to the Briggs, and fifteen to 
 the Black Hawk. *In 1876 the Fagan-Kansas mill 
 received twenty additional stamps, the Wheeler fifteen 
 the Fullerton eighteen and the Lake, five. This shows
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 193 
 
 an increase of sixty-five new stamps in 1875, and of 
 fifty-eight in 1876, while two hundred more stamps 
 are running now than in the winter, or during 1875. 
 The following mills are at work (October, 1876). 
 
 NO. STAMPS. 
 
 Arrighi 
 
 Sensenderfer 
 
 Fullerton & Co 
 
 Holdbrook(Fullerton & Co) . . 
 University (Fullerton & Col . . 
 
 Lake 
 
 Kimber & Co 
 
 Mellor 
 
 Bobtail Company' Black Hawk 
 Bobtail Company's Eagle . . . 
 
 Norton 
 
 Wheeler . . 
 
 Lake 
 
 Consolidated Gregory 
 
 Waterman 
 
 New York and Colorado . . 
 
 Briggs 
 
 Buell 
 
 Monmouth- Kansas 
 
 Whitcomb 
 
 Potter 
 
 Clayton 
 
 LOCATION 
 
 North Clear Creek 
 
 Eureka Gulch 
 Gregory Gulch 
 
 Nevada Gulch 
 
 Total 
 
 Here are twenty-two mills, and seven hundred 
 and seven stamps as against the usual quota of 
 from four hundred and twenty to five hundred and 
 fifty. Besides the above a number of mills have been 
 run at intervals, such as the Miley mill, with fifteen 
 stamps, and the Rowe, Tascher and Winnebago mills. 
 The work of these make up for loss of time on some 
 of those given in the table. The average number of 
 stamps running for the six months ending October 
 
 13
 
 194 COLORADO. 
 
 i, 1876, was something like six hundred and twenty, 
 and for the nine months to that date not far from five 
 hundred and sixty. 
 
 Several of the most prominent mills are noted in 
 after pages in connection with mines with which they 
 are connected. Among the best conducted and most 
 prosperous and extensive milling establishments of 
 the district are those of Kimber & Fullerton, who are 
 also extensively engaged in mining. These parties 
 have mill sites embracing 3,000 feet of continuous 
 ground. 
 
 The Kimber mill, owned by J. V. Kimber and F. 
 C. Young, contains thirty-five stamps with improved 
 pans and other arrangements, making one of the best 
 ore reducing concerns of the country. Last year a 
 solid stone structure, 65x90, was built over the old 
 frame which was removed. A raceway allows the 
 mill to run on water power nearly the entire season, 
 from April to September, and lessens the amount of 
 steam required during the remainder of the year. A 
 record of the business of this mill for two and one 
 half years, shows that 2,500 cords or 17,500 tons of 
 custom ore were crushed, coming from one hundred 
 lodes or claims, but mainly from seventy-five. This 
 produced 1 1,250 ounces of gold, at an average value 
 of $17.00 per ounce, worth $191,250. This gives an 
 average of four and one half ounces per cord, or $10.93 
 per ton. The best qualities had been previously 
 selected from most of these veins which assayed from 
 sixty-five to two hundred and fifty dollars per ton.
 
 COLORADO. 195 
 
 This mill has been constantly at work for many years. 
 
 A short distance up the stream Fullerton & Kimber 
 have two mills, formerly called the University (twenty 
 stamps ), and the Holdbrook ( fifteen stamps ). Still 
 further above they have what is called the Fullerton 
 mill. This, like the Kimber, has recently been rebuilt, 
 the old frame giving place to substantial stone walls. 
 Eighteen new stamps were added, making the whole 
 number thirty-three. Water power is used with 
 and without steam in different parts of the year, and 
 no better milling is done anywhere in the district. 
 These four mills with one hundred and three stamps, 
 crush custom ores for all who choose to bring them, 
 but are largely engaged in handling those from that 
 part of the Gunnell operated by Kimber, Fullerton 
 & Co., which has lately been very productive. 
 
 The Wheeler mill is located in Black Hawk just 
 above the smelting works. It is comparatively a new 
 mill and originally had twenty-five stamps and more 
 recently thirty-five. It received an addition this sum- 
 mer, with fifteen stamps and a forty-five horse power 
 engine, and fifty stamps have been running since the 
 close of August. This mill has always been at work, 
 mainly on custom ores from whoever chose to bring 
 them, together with some ores from Wheeler & Co.'s 
 mines. Its reputation for work, good returns, capacity 
 and management has been second to none in the 
 country, and it has always been crowded with ore. 
 The stamps weigh five hundred pounds each, and are 
 run at the rate ot about thirty drops a minute. Bar-
 
 196 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 tola pans are used in the mill and the tables and other 
 appliances are much the same as with other first- 
 class establishments in the county. 
 
 The following statement has been furnished, of the 
 work done by the mill in fifteen months from April 1, 
 [875 to July 1, 1876, during which time thirty-five 
 stamps wore in operation: 
 
 1875. 
 
 April . . . 
 May 1 
 
 November 
 December . 
 
 1876 
 January . . 
 February 
 
 CKUS1II 11. 
 
 March ) 
 
 April I 
 M : 
 
 tune J 
 
 94-3 
 
 '"7 
 
 
 Ol'NCHS Oh (.01. 1) 
 KETORT. 
 
 62 3 
 
 1819.52 
 
 502.65 
 
 532-86 
 
 511.06 
 
 515-8 
 
 450.4 
 
 546.6 
 504-2 
 
 1684.8 
 
 7690.89 
 
 This shows and average yield of 4.99 ounces of gold 
 per cord of ore taken from mines all over Gilpin 
 county, or of #11.32 per ton. At $17 per ounce, 
 7,690.89 ounces of gold would show a currency value 
 of 5130,745.13. The mill, making no allowance for 
 temporary stoppages, crushed an average of 3.38 cords 
 or 25.35 tons per day, and turned out 16.90 ounces of 
 gold retort, or $287.35, during the same time. The 
 mill is superintended by Theodore Wheeler, one of 
 the best mill men in the country, and of many years' 
 experience among the stamps and tables. It is owned 
 by Wheeler & Randolph. With fifty stamps in oper- 
 ation the product is largely increased.
 
 COLORADO. 197 
 
 Potter has milled at Nevadaville continually since 
 i860. In 1869 he completed the Enterprise mill, with 
 fifteen stamps, located at the head of the gulch. From 
 July 1, 1869 to April 1, 1871, a period of twenty-one 
 months, this turned out 4,800 ounces and three dwt. 
 of gold retort, worth (counting at the low rate of 
 $16.67 P er ounce) $70,018.60. No record is obtain- 
 able for portions of subsequent years, having been 
 destroyed with the mill July 24, 1874. From January 
 to June 1872, the yield was 1,739 ounces, 6 dwt. 
 For the year 1873, 2,124 ounces, 16 dwt. In 1874 up 
 to July 24th, 684 ounces, 18 dwt, with about as much 
 more of which the record is lost. This shows a total 
 of 9,349 ounces and three dwt of gold retort, worth 
 at $16.67 per ounce, $145,850.43, or $158,935.60, at 
 $17.00 per ounce. The gold, of which no record is 
 extant, would probably swell the amount turned out 
 by this fifteen stamp mill in five years, to $200,000. 
 The ore came in lots, large and small, running from 
 an ounce up to thirty ounces per cord, and from two 
 hundred or more leads. The Forks lode had sixty- 
 two and one quarter cords of ore crushed in 1869, 
 that yielded five hundred and forty nine ounces and 
 one dwt., or about nine ounces to the cord. 
 
 September 22, 1875, Mr. Potter began work in his 
 present or new mill, and ran fifteen stamps up to about 
 the beginning of the year. Then the capacity was 
 increased to twenty-five stamps, with pans, etc., form- 
 ing altogether one of the most complete and econom- 
 ical steam mills in the country. In three months
 
 198 COLORADO. 
 
 work with fifteen stamps, and in six months with twenty- 
 five stamps, three hundred and thirteen and one half 
 cords of ore were handled, and the yield of gold 
 retort was 2,447 ounces, worth $42,109. This came 
 from three hundred lots of ore from over fifty differ- 
 ent lodes or claims. Three cords of ore from the 
 Jones returned one hundred and six ounces of gold 
 or Si, 800, and one cord gave thirty-two ounces and 
 two dwt. Other yields of twenty-six and twenty- 
 eight ounces occurred. 
 
 The Enterprise mill, burned in 1874, was located 
 in a ravine at the head of Nevada gulch. This was 
 blocked with snow one winter so that no ore could be 
 wheeled to the mill until a tunnel had been excavated 
 through the huge snow drift. This tunnel under the 
 snow, one hundred and forty feet long, furnished a 
 roadway from January until May. A little back stop- 
 ing was occasionally required to obviate the settling 
 of the snow, but otherwise no work was required to 
 keep a passage clear. 
 
 Among other stamp mills that have fine records in. 
 treating custom ores, is the Mellor mill, of twenty 
 ( five hundred-pound ) stamps, located at the junction 
 of North Clear Creek and Chase gulch. This was 
 rebuilt in 1869 from the old mill of Kinkead & Hayes. 
 Since then it has run night and day, with the excep- 
 tion of two or three temporary stoppages for repairs. 
 In fourteen months ending December 1, 1875, seven 
 hundred and twenty cords (5,040 tons), or sixty cords 
 per month, were treated, yielding $57,902.60. This
 
 COLORADO. 199 
 
 shows an average return of four and six sevenths ounces 
 of gold per cord, or $11.48 per ton. Two men are 
 employed at night and two in the day beside the pro- 
 prietor, who acts as the foreman. Every twenty-four 
 hours $7.50 worth of coal is consumed, as against a 
 cord ond half of wood previous to last year. 
 
 Henry W. Lake owns two mills at Black Hawk, 
 one run by steam power on North Clear Creek, above 
 Chase gulch, and a water mill just above the smelting 
 works. The latter is not run during the winter 
 months. Its fifteen stamps are employed by ore from 
 the Field claim on the Bobtail. The steam mill was 
 recently enlarged and improved and. had five new 
 stamps added, making twenty-five in all, of five hun- 
 dred and fifty pounds each. The copper plated tables 
 are eight feet long to which are attached composition 
 and blanketed tables. There are three Bartola pans 
 which are used on the more refractory ores. The 
 stamps are kept in motion at the rate of thirty to 
 thirty-two drops per minute, by a No. 7 Woodbury 
 engine of twenty-five horse power, capable of running 
 a forty stamp mill. The capacity of this mill is 
 eighteen cords per week or three cords of ore daily. 
 
 The following is an accurate statement of the work 
 and production of this mill for the year 1874, when it 
 contained but twenty stamps. The main cause of the 
 remarkable yield of the mill was that two-thirds of 
 the ore came from the Ophir-Burroughs and Fisk 
 lodes — the first of which gave the extremely large 
 average yield of thirteen and fourteen ounces of gold
 
 200 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 to the cord, while the Fisk usually gave from nine to 
 thirteen ounces. 
 
 ORE TRE \ I I ii 
 
 1874. 
 
 I ORDS OZS DVi [ GRS 
 
 Januai v . . 
 
 February . 
 March . . . 
 April . . . 
 May . . . 
 June . . . 
 July. . . 
 August . 
 September 
 October . . 
 November . 
 December . 
 
 
 ' 
 
 1 446 
 
 1 
 
 e 4 y 2 
 
 462 
 
 17 
 
 61 
 
 57" 
 
 5 
 
 61 % 
 
 
 1 
 
 \iVk 
 
 440 
 
 9 
 
 63 , 
 
 509 
 
 4 
 
 1 WA 
 
 395 
 
 
 ' 52 
 
 422 
 
 3 
 
 S4'A 
 
 , 489 
 
 16 
 
 
 bl% 
 
 033 
 
 8 
 
 
 55 A 
 
 474 
 
 IS 
 
 
 WA 
 
 | 7°7 
 
 9 
 
 
 735 
 
 6130 
 
 1 
 
 At the common average value of $17 per ounce 
 these 6,130 ounces of gold show the mill's production 
 in 1874, to have been $104,21 1. Here is the extraor- 
 dinary average yield for the entire seven hundred and 
 thirty-five cords, or 5,880 tons of ore of over eight 
 and one-third ounces per cord, or of $17.72 per ton, 
 allowing eight tons to the cord. 
 
 The Collom Dressing and Smelting Company has 
 a large establishment on North Clear Creek, in Black 
 Hawk, for the purchase, dressing and concentrating of 
 ores which are eventually sent to the works at Golden 
 for smelting. In 1874 this company bought the great 
 Keith mill, remodled and enlarged it and placed the 
 immense quantity of machinery therein, necessary for 
 this (wet) concentrating process. But little work was 
 done till April 1876, when the smelter was completed. 
 Since then the establishment has been in operation
 
 COLORADO. 20 1 
 
 the greater portion of the time. The company was 
 organized in Trenton, New Jersey, and has expended 
 over $60,000 here. Very good prices are paid for 
 ores, and certain varieties have been made available 
 which were not adapted to the stamp mill process and 
 were too poor to pay for smelting until concentrated. 
 About seventy tons of ore can be dressed here daily, 
 but the works have been run up to their fnll capacity 
 only a portion of the time. Prof. Behr and the Col- 
 loms, have charge. A success is said to be made of 
 handling copper bearing gold ores and on lead ores- 
 Quartz carrying zinc blende and some of the purer 
 gold ores, are not as well adopted to the process, and 
 do better in the stamp mills. These works have 
 caused several large veins to be worked successfully 
 that were losing concerns before. 
 
 Near the above are the West Smelting buildings, 
 erected in 1870 but which did not prove successful* 
 Recently tailings from the stamp mills have been 
 purchased here for roasting and shipped to the Golden 
 Smelting works, by superintendant West. For these 
 tailings the assay value is paid, less $22 per ton. 
 
 The Goldeu Smelting works have an ore purchas- 
 ing agency and sampling works, at the Norton mill in 
 Black Hawk. Their favorite class of ores is that car- 
 rying a high percentage of lead.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE BOSTON V.ND COLORADO SMELTING WORKS. 
 
 Th( Champion Bullion Producer Its Foundation and 
 growth. Sown account of the works. Full statement 
 of production. Annual shipments $2,000,000 per an- 
 num thirty-six tons of pur( Silver, and nearly one of 
 Gold. Ninety-seven per cent. 
 
 The Boston and Colorado Smelting Works were 
 established in 1867 by Prof. N. P. Hill, under whose 
 management they are still successfully conducted. 
 They are located beside North Clear creek, in the 
 lower portion of Black Hawk, and one mile from 
 Central. Additions and improvements have been 
 successively made until they have no superior, if an 
 equal, in America in mode of treatment, and in 
 amount and character of bullion produced. They 
 have proved of vast benefit to the miners in furnishing 
 a ready cash market for the product of the mines. 
 For the treatment of the more valuable ores of Gilpin 
 county, this establishment is found indispensible, by 
 reason of the much higher percentage of the precious 
 metals saved than can be done at the stamp mills. 
 
 Ores are purchased from all parts of Colorado, the 
 larger portion coming from the silver mines. Latterly 
 the telluride mines of Boulder county have figured 
 heavily in the purchases. The amount of money 
 invested in newly-bought ores, tailings and ores in
 
 COLORADO. 203 
 
 process of treatment never falls below $750,000. The 
 capital paid-up stock of the company has lately been 
 increased from $500,000 to $750,000, embracing 7,500 
 shares, valued at $100 each. The resident manager 
 of this grand establishment, including the branch 
 works at Alma, is Prof. N. P. Hill, while Mr. Henry 
 R. Wolcott has charge of the office business of the 
 Company, and Mr. Richard Pearse superintends the 
 metallurgical department. 
 
 Four acres of ground are occupied by the ore yards 
 and necessary buildings. The latter include, beside 
 the office and assay departments, nine groups of 
 buildings used for storing ore, for the various furnaces, 
 (of which there are seventeen for smelting and cal- 
 cining) and the leeching and refining houses. Some 
 of these are from 150 to 250 feet in length. A side 
 track from the Colorado Central Railway extends into 
 the yard, and trains loaded with ores arrive almost 
 daily. 
 
 Since the commencement of the present year these 
 works have had a capacity for treating fifty-three 
 tons of ore daily. Ninety-four men are employed. 
 $15,000 are paid out monthly in about equal propor- 
 tions for fuel and labor, and from $125,000 to $175,000 
 for ore. A brick building for gold and refining pur- 
 poses was completed in January last, and more re- 
 cently one for refining copper. The work of the 
 former is done by a new method, the invention of Mr. 
 Pearse. By this the company are enabled to part the 
 metals so that the gold and copper are now shipped
 
 204 COLORADO. 
 
 in the metallic state, instead of being forwarded to 
 Boston in the form of matte for separation as formerly. 
 
 During the first quarter of 1876 eight gold bars, 
 about 800 fine and of an average value of something 
 over $18,000 each, were sent away. The copper refin- 
 ery turns out six tons of copper per diem, and is 
 operated whenever a supply has accumulated — forty 
 tons having been run out during a single week. 
 
 Anew stone building 150 feet by 90, has recently 
 been erected near the office to be used for storing 
 ores, and another of smaller dimensions, containing 
 machinery for ore crushing purposes. This contains 
 a Blake crusher of the largest size, and a heavy set of 
 Cornish rollers. These are designed to do all the 
 crushing of the products of the works. The old ma- 
 chinery will be used exclusively for crushing, custom 
 ores so that no delay in this respect will hereafter be 
 experienced by parties selling ores. All of the frame 
 buildings except those used for smelting and calcining 
 have been enclosed or supplanted by solid stone 
 structures, and these as well as the frames and bricks 
 are to be covered by iron roofs, rendering the place 
 comparatively fire-proof. 
 
 The Alma braneh works in Park county have been 
 in successful operation over two years, are of twenty- 
 five tons capacity, and the ores handled in 1875 
 turned out $678,000. The matte is sent to the Black 
 Hawk works for separating and refining. This con- 
 cern was built, and was operated under the supervision 
 of Henry R. Wolcott until January last, when the
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 205 
 
 present superintendent, Henry Williams, took charge. 
 The value of gold produced at the Black Hawk works 
 in 1875 was #521,000, of copper £70,000, and of 
 silver #1,353,000, making a total of #1,947,000, as 
 
 l ! 1 1 1 : I 1 1 J .. 1 I 11 I ■ lljijj 1 ' |ij| J 
 
 BULLION SHIPMENT — A TON AND A QUARTER OF SILVER— VALUE £45,000. 
 
 against #1,638,877 in 1874, which was the best pre- 
 ceding year. The silver comprised about thirty-six 
 tons of bright shining bars, absolutely pure (from 999
 
 206 COLORADO. 
 
 to 99c) 1 j fine) being probably the handsomest silver 
 turned out by any ore reducing establishment in the 
 country. 
 
 The following is the first detailed statement ever 
 published by the company, and shows the amounts of 
 gold, silver and copper obtained from the ores pur- 
 chased from the various counties of Colorado. 
 
 The production of the Boston and Colorado Smelt- 
 ing Company for the year 1875, was as follows: 
 
 GILPIN COUNTY ORES. 
 Gold #357,000 
 
 Silver 94,000 
 
 per 51 ,000 $502 ,000 
 
 CLEAR CREEK COUNTY ORES. 
 
 I ild $4,000 
 
 Silver ' 438,000 442,000 
 
 1'AKK COUNTY ORES. 
 
 Gold $41,000 
 
 Silver 618,000 
 
 Copper 19,000 678,000 
 
 BOULDER COUNTY ORES. 
 
 Gold 113,000 
 
 Silver 74,""" 1K7,""" 
 
 FREMONT COUNTY ORES. 
 
 Silver 126,000 126,000 
 
 Gold and Silver from San Juan and other sources. . 12,000 
 
 $1,947,000 
 
 The above production was made with a capacity of 
 forty tons daily, while the present capacity is fifty- 
 three tons, and the works are always supplied with 
 ores far ahead of their immediate needs. From this 
 it will be seen that there is every probability that the
 
 COLORADO. 207 
 
 shipments of 1876 will exceed $2,500,000. The first 
 quarter of each year for various causes always shows 
 a much smaller output than any other. During the 
 three months ending April 1, 1876, the shipments 
 amounted to $460,445, of which $311,445 was silver, 
 and $149,000 gold. A large amount of skilled labor- 
 is employed, for which liberal prices are paid, and the 
 general management of the establishment has ever 
 been of a character to ensure success. As has been 
 stated before ninety-seven per cent, of the gold, silver 
 and copper contained in the ores are saved. Purchases 
 are made on a basis of a charge for treatment of not 
 far from $35 or $45 per ton, accoVding to the value of 
 the ores. These terms are said to be more favorable 
 than are obtained in similar establishments in other 
 states and territories. 
 
 The following statement of the production of these 
 works, by years, from the time they were established, 
 appears in Cushman & Waterman's book, on the 
 
 mines: 
 
 1868 $• 270,886 
 
 1869 489,875 
 
 1870 652,329 
 
 1871 848,571 
 
 1872 999.954 
 
 1873 1,210,670 
 
 1874 1,638,877 
 
 1875 1,947,000 
 
 Total $8,058,162
 
 CHAPTER XXT. 
 
 THE KING VEIN "I THE DISTRICT. 
 
 Its discovery and subsequent history— Over #s, 000,000 in 
 Gold I'll' days of "sixty" and "sixty four" — How 
 fortunes wi n won and lost Sales to Eastern Compa- 
 nies -$1,000 a foot and #1,000 " day— Threads of Gold 
 << mi Tons of Bullion A record of seventeen years — 
 Pre xi nt <>]» "rations and />'</> Mining. 
 
 The Gregory has been the most productive lode 
 in Colorado and is probably the most widely known. 
 Like most other veins in its vicinity, it is supposed 
 to come from the Mammoth — its course diverging 
 therefrom at an angle of forty-five degrees in a north- 
 erly direction. From Mammoth and Packard gulches 
 it passes through Gregory hill and Gregory gulch 
 through Bates hill, a distance of over 4,500 feet or 
 possibly a mile. Only the central 2,340 feet have been 
 well developed. Fifteen hundred feet of this have been 
 pretty well worked out to a depth of five hundred 
 feet and in some places to over six hundred. On the 
 northeastern slope of Gregory hill is a parallel and 
 branch vein of the lode known as the Foot and Sim- 
 mons and further east is a similar vein called the 
 Briggs. A granite wall, varying in width from a few 
 feet up to seventy, separates the Briggs and the Greg- 
 ory veins. 
 
 Clarence King, of California, in his excellent report
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 209 
 
 of 1870, says of this vein. "The country rock of the 
 Gregory lode is generally similar to that of the Bob- 
 tail — a granitic gneiss poor in mica, at other times 
 abounding in that mineral, and having an "appearance 
 of mica schist. It frequently shows parallel bands or 
 lines of structure, and of varied mineral compositions 
 which usually dip flatly to the eastward. The walls 
 are not very regular. Sometimes they are quite smooth 
 and well defined, but usually there is little or no gange 
 or selvage, and the removal of the vein matter near 
 the wall leaves a ragged and uneven surface. Where 
 the walls have been left standing they frequently scale 
 off and fall in large pieces : sometimes bits of a highly 
 micaceous character occur, wich soften on exposure 
 to the air, rendering the walls insecure. The distri- 
 bution of the ore is variable occuring in seams of two 
 or three inches to two or more feet with intervening 
 bands of poor rock, and sometimes pinching out alto- 
 gether, leaving the vein filled with barren matter, con- 
 sisting of hard quartz and feldspar." 
 
 The discovery was made by the pioneer prospector 
 John H. Gregory, on the sixth day of May 1859, 
 being the first lode vein found in Colorado. The sur- 
 face dirt was washed in the gulch by sluices, and was 
 exceedingly rich. Gregory and five men took out 
 3942 in five days; Henderson & Co. $607 in four days ; 
 Zegler, Spain & Co. $2,400 in three weeks ; Defrees 
 & Co. $2,080 in twelve days ; Leper, Gridley & Co. 
 $ 1,000 in one day and Foot & Simmions 3300 in three 
 days. These are only examples of what was done. 
 14
 
 2IO COLORADO. 
 
 Gregory sold out his two hundred feet in two weeks. 
 The remainder of the lode was preempted, portions 
 of it were sold and resold and finally became the prop- 
 erty of eastern companies in 1864. 
 
 Near the crest of Gregory hill is the Narragansett 
 property — 400 feet — composed of claims nine, ten, 
 eleven and twelve. E. W. Henderson bought the 
 latter in i860 and sold it in 1864 for $20,000, at the 
 time Cofield bonded the four claims to sell them to 
 the company. Joseph E. Bates and Lull sold No. 1 1 
 for $50,000. This was the best, while No. 12 ranked 
 next. Tuttle sold for the same figures. Eben Smith, 
 was the most influential in raising the company, and 
 became agent, took a large amount of stock and after- 
 wards lost heavily by the operation. The sales were 
 made June 8th and 28, 1864. Expensive hoisting 
 works and costly stone buildings were erected over 
 the mine. In 1868, the main shaft had reached a depth 
 of 450 feet and is now about 550 feet deep. This por- 
 tion of the lode has usually been unprofitable. 
 
 The Consolidated Gregory — 500 feet — embraced 
 claims four to eight inclusive. The Foot and Sim- 
 mons vein now considered a part of the Gregory lode, 
 lies close by and parallel to it. Of the first owners, 
 Wilkes Defrees, had claims four and seven, and John 
 H. Gregory, five and six. These properties changed 
 hands several times. In i860, John Bruce bought 
 one-half of claim No. 4, of Mason and W. N. Dick- 
 erson bought the other half of Boswell. These pur- 
 chasers made fortunes rapidly. The surface quartz
 
 COLORADO. 211 
 
 yielded at times $400 per cord, and up to the begin- 
 ning of 1864 they had taken out over $200,000, of 
 which sum, two thirds was profit. They then sold for 
 $50,000 each. 
 
 On the twenty-ninth day of May 1859, only thirty- 
 three days after the discovery, E. W. Henderson and 
 A. Gridley paid John H. Gregory $21,000 for claims 
 five and six. They cleared $18,000 from washing the 
 surface dirt that summer. Gregory had mined and 
 prospected in California previously. He discovered 
 the Bates and Gregory Second a few days after find- 
 ing the Gregory, and was then hired by a party to 
 prospect for lodes at $200 per day. He is said to 
 have returned to the states in September 1859, with 
 $30,000 in gold dust. He came back to Colorado in 
 i860, with a stamp mill, which he run a short time 
 and then sold. He was an inveterate gambler and 
 finally brought up in Montana, where he died poor, 
 sometime prior to 1865. 
 
 Wilkes Defrees sold No. 7 to Leeper, Barber and 
 Stanwell. Henderson & Gridley continued to work 
 five and six until they came down to the pyrites of 
 iron and then to the barren cap rock, when they, like 
 many others after them, were surprised and discon- 
 certed at their failure to save the gold. The vein 
 seemed to them to have played out, as far as value 
 was concerned. They did not give up in despair, 
 however, as so many did in those days, but continued 
 to work their property until they were able to obtain 
 "pay" again. They sold portions of their claims
 
 2 I 2 COLORADO. 
 
 several times, but received some of it back again owing 
 to the failure of the buyers to settle. Their two hun- 
 dred feet of ground yielded s.24,000 in 1859, $59,000 
 in i860, and from the date of discovery to 1863 a total 
 of $100,000, worth of gold was sold to one bank 
 alone. 
 
 At that time Pullman, now of Palace car fame, and 
 James E. Lyon, late of Little Emma notoriety, were 
 operating extensively in this district. They obtained 
 possession of claims seven and eight, and one-half of 
 six, and effected the sale of those and adjoining claims 
 to the Consolidated Gregory Company, March 31, 
 1864, each claim owner receiving $ 1,000 per foot. 
 Henderson & Gridley received $100,000 for No. 5, and 
 Dodge $50,000 for the west half of six, and Bruce 
 and Dickerson sold as above stated, making with that 
 of Pullman & Lyon five hundred feet in all. The 
 property was then stocked for $5,000,000, in New 
 York, and the company, began operations in May,, 
 1864, with James E. Lyon, as managing director and 
 Benj. Rule as superintendent, while W. M. Rule, had 
 charge of affairs in the mine. M. B. Hayes, was 
 agent for several years and was succeeded by Henry 
 Hannington in 1 868 who had previously been in the 
 company's service at the head office in New York. 
 The latter had charge of affairs for five years. Lyon 
 had completed some expensive smelting works at the 
 toll gate in Black Hawk, in 1866, whose ruins can be 
 seen to this day. They were a failure. In 1868, the 
 company completed and started up their fifty stamp
 
 COLORADO. 213 
 
 mill at the same point, which is now operated by- 
 Richmond & Miller. The mine was not worked stead- 
 ily, but was sometimes very rich. From the fall of 
 1867 to that of 1869 from forty to seventy men were 
 employed, sixty tons of ore were raised daily yielding 
 from two to twenty ounces per cord, or from $5.00 to 
 $50.00 per ton, and assays gave at the rate of from 
 $10,000 to $34,000 per ton. A streak of nearly pure 
 gold was found extending from No. 4 into No. 5, for 
 a distance of sixty feet, and as thick as ones finger. 
 Quartz carrying lumps of pure gold were often found. 
 In one month of 1867 a profit of $14,000 was cleared. 
 One of the largest shipments of gold and silver ever 
 made from Central came from this mine in 1868. It 
 weighed one hundred and fifty-two pounds and two 
 ounces, and was worth in currency, over $37,000. 
 Some of the ore produced $250 per ton, but the yield 
 of the vein was very uneven, most of it running from 
 $4.00 to $10.00. Probably $250,000 was produced in 
 two years, up to near the close of 1869. After that 
 time owing to the shutting down of the Black Hawk 
 mine, whose great pump kept these claims clear of 
 water, mining was conducted on a much smaller scale 
 and usually by leasers. The Briggs brothers will 
 soon have their levels from the Briggs shaft run 
 under this property, at a depth of from 800 to 1,000 
 feet. 
 
 What was formerly the Black Hawk property was 
 by far the richest part of the Gregory in bygone years. 
 It consisted of claims one, two and three west. C.
 
 2 I 4 COLORADO. 
 
 M. Zigler preempted No. 3 and C. M. Fiske and others 
 the remainder. Subsequently other parties bought 
 in. In i860, Lee, Judd & Lee bought this three hun- 
 dred feet, one-half of No. I, being obtained from S. 
 E. Miller. This ground paid well on the surface and 
 at intervals below. In the fall of 1862, after passing 
 through b irren ground, an immense deposit or chim- 
 ney of soft iron ore was found over two hundred feet 
 down, which yielded enormously in gold. That fall 
 each member of the firm received $3,000 per month 
 from the profits, after paying for mill sites, building, 
 and constructing a large mill and flume thereto in 
 Black Hawk. The vein was often twenty feet wide. 
 In the following spring a dividend of $120,000 was 
 obtained, and still it continued to yield. Up to the 
 spring of 1864, they had taken out $500,000 with a 
 profit for each man of over $125,000. At that time 
 Wm. L. Lee started for the states by coach and took 
 a large leather carpet bag filled with gold retorts, 
 some of them as large as a man's head and worth 
 together nearly $90,000. It was all that most men 
 could do to carry or move it about. And yet in 1862, 
 before "pay" was found, they would have sold their 
 three hundred feet for $6,000. Lee, Judd & Lee sold 
 to the Black Hawk, Company April 8, 1864, taking 
 stock of the company for pay. They disposed of 
 some of this, but never realized much for their prop- 
 erty. Total stock of the company, $5,000,000. The 
 purchase included two hundred and seventy-two feet 
 on the Bobtail and many other claims, two mills etc.
 
 COLORADO. 215 
 
 Wm. L. Lee, who held a large amount of stock, was 
 induced to become agent in 1866, when it was found 
 that the first agent had run the company $200,000 in 
 debt. J. M. Marshall, took Lee's place for seven 
 months in 1867. Lee threw up the position in 1869, 
 when Geo. E. Congden took charge. 
 
 Early in i860 J. S. and C. H. Briggs arrived in the 
 gulch and bought 240 feet of the Gregory next east of 
 the Black Hawk for $1800 of Gregory and Reece. 
 The usual profits were made on surface dirt. A part 
 of this property was in the gulch itself, where the 
 Briggs brothers owned a gulch claim. In working 
 the latter they discovered another vein nearly parallel 
 with the Gregory which they called the Briggs. 
 This was in the summer of i860. This is now known 
 as a part of the great Gregory lode and extends into 
 the New York and Colorado property. 
 
 In 1864 the Briggs brothers sold the property to the 
 Briggs Company and bought it back again on a sheriff 
 sale in 1868. The mine has usually been one of the 
 most profitable in the country, and continued to make 
 big dividends until 1870, when work was suspended 
 and the Briggs Brothers went to the States, where 
 they remained until 1873. The cause of this aban- 
 donment was the previous shutting down of the Black 
 Hawk Company's mine, which contained the great 
 pump that kept these veins free from water. The 
 Briggs brothers endeavored to lease or purchase the 
 pump or the mine, and after returning with powerful 
 pumps of their own in 1873, freeing the Briggs from
 
 2l6 COLORADO. 
 
 water and resuming work, they finally effected a pur- 
 chase of the very valuable Black I lawk claims for the 
 small sum of £40,000. The purchase was made from 
 C. S. Jackson who had obtained possession after the 
 property had passed into the hands of the bondholders. 
 
 At an early day Ben. Smith and D. S. Parmelee 
 obtained three hundred feet of the Gregory in and 
 west of the gulch. Here they tapped the Briggs vein. 
 Some time before, the owner of the property had made 
 several efforts to sell for $1 500 or less. After working 
 the mine at times very successfully they formed a 
 company in New York early in 1864, and Benj. Smith 
 became the first agent, succeeded by Parmelee. In 
 1865 D. D. Belden became agent and held that posi- 
 tion until succeeded by B. T. Wells early in 1869. 
 Up to that time the company had taken out over 
 $500,000 worth of bullion. Probably over a quarter 
 of a million dollars has been taken out since. The 
 New York and Colorado company has succeeded the 
 New York and the Smith and Parmelee companies. 
 
 About June, 1864, after the sale of the various prop- 
 erties to the companies, Messrs. Lee, Judd & Lee, 
 Kinney and others who had sold, met together and 
 figured up as nearly as possible the value of the gold 
 that had been taken from the Gregory lode from the 
 time of its discovery, a period of five years. The sum 
 totals came very close to $5,000,000 ! The five most 
 productive parts of the Gregory lode have all been 
 idle at intervals, and the remainder nearly all of the 
 time. The longest stoppage was from 1869 to 1873-4,
 
 COLORADO. 217 
 
 the greater part of which time the Briggs and Black 
 Hawk claims were idle, and the Consolidated Gregory 
 and Smith & Parmelee partly so. 
 
 About two hundred and twenty men are employed 
 on the Gregory lode, including the force engaged in 
 running the two stamp mills, with a yield of seventy- 
 five tons of ore daily, or 2,250 monthly, returning 
 about $20,000 or less than $9 a ton, including all grades. 
 The expenses of mining, hoisting and milling are $5 
 per ton or under, being perhaps the lowest in the 
 country. Three firms or companies have been at work 
 for several years operating on the New York and Col- 
 orado (800 feet,) the Briggs (1,040 feet,) and the Nar- 
 ragansett (400) feet. 
 
 The New York and Colorado company owns and 
 works the eight hundred feet on the Gregory and 
 Briggs veins north-east of and adjoining the Briggs 
 property. Directly over the six hundred and seventy 
 foot shaft is a fine forty-stamp mill, with a powerful 
 Cornish pump and hoisting works, all driven by an 
 eighty-horse power engine. The shaft will be sunk 
 to a depth of 900 or 1000 feet without delay so as 
 to obtain stoping ground. From thirty to forty 
 tons of ore are raised daily, giving a yield in 1875 of 
 $76,310.75 and for the three months ending April 1, 
 1876, $18,180.51. B. T. Wells has been agent and 
 manager since the beginning of 1869. Much money 
 has been expended in improving the condition of the 
 mine and mill, and in opening the former for extensive 
 operations in the future. When this is accomplished
 
 2 1 8 COLORADO. 
 
 and the present lean body of ore is passed, good 
 profits may be expected. 
 
 The Briggs brothers own the two hundred and 
 forty feet known as the Briggs claims, and the three 
 hundred feet formerly owned by the Black Hawk Com- 
 pany, and lease the five hundred feet once operated by 
 the Consolidated Gregory company. Over the Briggs 
 claims and shafts is a fine brick mill building con- 
 taining powerful hoisting works, pumps, and fifty 
 stamps (twenty-five having been added last year) with 
 double issue batteries throughout. Here is the main 
 shaft, over seven hundred and fifty feet deep, which is 
 being driven down to attain a depth of 1,000 feet. 
 It is forty feet long and ten wide. All of this 
 ground is now worked by means of levels from the 
 Briggs shaft, additional depth being gained thereby- 
 The old shafts on these claims were from five hundred 
 to five hundred and seventy-five feet deep. The great 
 fifteen-inch pump placed in the Black Hawk pump 
 shaft by Lee in 1868, keeps the mines clear of water. 
 
 The following will show how productive and profi- 
 table were the Briggs and Black Hawk claims at one 
 time, notwithstanding it was in the era of high prices 
 and heavy expenses. The cause of the disasters that 
 finally overtook these and other companies, was that 
 through mismanagement they had become involved, 
 and their properties had been mortgaged — all due to 
 the fact that the stock was non-assessable. In 1867 
 the Black Hawk company obtained 12,193^ ounces 
 of gold worth #279,647.76 from about 12,000 tons of
 
 COLORADO. 219 
 
 ore, showing an average yield of $23.30 per 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 pres- 
 ent time. 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 1st, 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. In four years and 
 eleven months the Briggs two hundred and forty feet 
 yielded $534,615. 
 
 The consolidation of these properties reduced the 
 expenses greatly and the outlays for mining and mill- 
 ing are probably a little less per ton than anywhere 
 else. In one year's time three hundred feet of stoping 
 ground, one thousand and forty feet long, will extend 
 above the nine hundred-foot level. Nearly forty-five 
 tons of ore are crushed in the mill daily, and a small 
 quantity mined by tributors is treated elsewhere. The 
 selected ore brings from forty to one hundred and 
 fifty dollars per ton at the smelting works. The 
 expenses attending each ton of ore are about as fol- 
 lows: Mining or breaking the ore, $2; hoisting, fifty 
 cents ; milling, $2; total, $4.50. The average expend- 
 itures per month are about $10,500, of which $6,500 
 are paid for labor, $4,000 for supplies, $1,100 for coal, 
 $400 for powder, and $200 for candles. Over one 
 hundred and fifteen men are usually employed in the
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 mine and mill, and about fifty tons of ore are raised 
 daily. Something like 18,250 tons of ore were milled 
 or smelted during the year 1875, making the average 
 for high and low grades, taken together, $8.64 per 
 ton. A large amount of two-ounce ore was broken 
 down and milled that had been left standing in the 
 mine years ago, because it would not then pay 
 expenses. 
 
 Yield of the Briggs mine in 1875 : 
 
 Stamp mill ore $ 100,146.57 
 
 Smelters paid for ore 34,487.53 
 
 Total $ 134,634.10 
 
 The following figures will represent pretty fairly 
 the yield of the Gregory for 1875 : 
 
 New York and Colorado , $ 76,310.75 
 
 Briggs-Gregory, chiefly from the Briggs claims 134,634.10 
 
 Amount of gold in smelting ore over what was paid by 
 
 smelter for the above, and tribute gold in Briggs, etc . . 25,000.00 
 
 X.iir.igansetl 25,000.00 
 
 Total yield for 1875 $260,944.85 
 
 The following is something near a correct statement 
 of the yield of the Gregory lode from its discovery 
 down to the present time, a period of little over sev- 
 enteen years: 
 
 Yield of the entire lode, as stated by Lee, Judd & Lee, and 
 
 others, up to May 1864 $ 5,000,000 
 
 Smith .t Parmelee Co., to 1869 500,000 
 
 Smith & Parmelee and of New York Co., to the present 
 
 time 300,000 
 
 Briggs mine, 1864 to 1869 534, 615 
 
 Briggs mine since 1869 354,000 
 
 Black Hawk, 1864 to 1869 1,358,149 
 
 Black Hawk, since 1869 50,000 
 
 Consolidated Gregory, 1864 to the present time 350,000 
 
 Narragansett since 1864 125,000 
 
 l 8,571.764
 
 COLORADO. 221 
 
 These figures are certainly not too high, some well- 
 informed parties placing the total yield of the Gregory 
 at $10,000,000 — and nearly all of this came from 1,340 
 feet of the lode in less than ten years of active mining 
 operations. For the past two years the ore from the 
 Gregory has been very poor in quality, but has lately 
 been improving in the shaft and lower level. Since 
 July much of the Briggs mineral has become exceed- 
 ingly rich. The selected or richer ores have amounted 
 to quite an extensive figure, and have been sold in 
 three classes at or near one hundred and twenty-five, 
 eighty and forty dollars, respectively, per ton. The 
 mill ore will doubtless yield so much better in the 
 future than in the past two years as to double the 
 bullion product.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE B0BTAI1 LODE. 
 
 Hon' it got its )i<t>n< —A Golden Shower— How some tum- 
 bled into fortunes, and others out of them— The Corn- 
 pan ies History of the Lode and its yield— The Bobtail 
 Company — Tin Tunnel— Other parts of the Lode, etc. 
 
 The Bobtail is one of the richest gold bearing lodes 
 in Colorado, and has ranked next to the Gregory in 
 production, $4,000,000, at least, having been obtained 
 from it. There was a period of three years in its his- 
 tory when its average yield per ton was greater than 
 can be shown by any other gold vein for the same 
 quantity of ore. It crops out on the northern slope 
 of the hill of the same name, about five hundred feet 
 above the level of Gregory gulch and street. The 
 development and yield has been almost entirely con- 
 fined to less than 1,000 feet in the Bobtail hill and 
 ravine, between a kind of porphory dyke on the west 
 and the Sioux City lode on the east, both of which 
 cross the vein. The lode continues, however, in either 
 direction beyond these limits, and is being mined here 
 and there by small forces of men. The Bobtail is 
 claimed by many to be the east continuation of the 
 Mammoth, both having nearly or quite the same 
 diiection. 
 
 The following names appear as original preemptors 
 on this vein, originally called the Field or Bobtail.
 
 COLORADO. 223 
 
 B. O. Russell & Co., had No. 6; L. D. Crandall, No. 7; 
 L. D. Crandall & Co., No. 3; W. F. Ross had four, J. 
 A. Johns and R. Branch, three; W. F. Ross and N. 
 Squires, eight; J. F. Fields, five. The names of Smith- 
 em, Thomas and Fay & Co., also appear. These were 
 all on claims numbered east from the gulch. 
 
 Brownlee had No.'s 3 and 4 west. Most of the 
 claims changed hands often in 1859-60, and generally 
 for trifling figures. J. F. Field preempted claim No. 2, 
 west. A large number of individuals recorded 2,000 
 feet of territory on the lode east of any claims above 
 noted. Among them were D. S. Parmelee, J. S. Stone, 
 D. D. Belden and W. N. Byers. 
 
 A relocation of the lode left claim number 4 with 
 only seventy-two feet, as Field & Co. refused to move 
 on so as to allow the claim to be a full one. Field and 
 the Cottons divided, Field retaining thirty-three and 
 one third feet, which he owns to this day. The Cot- 
 tons sold to Ben. Smith and after a big yield Smith and 
 Parmelee sold to Eb. Smith and J. B. Chaffee in 1862. 
 
 Before the relocation of the lode the Reem brothers 
 of Iowa, owned a bobtailed ox, with which they were 
 accustomed to haul the rich surface dirt, that lay scat- 
 tered on the hill side, down to Gregory gulch, in 
 beeves hides, to be washed in the sluices. John H. 
 Gregory gave the lode the name of "Bobtail," from 
 this ox and it has ever since retained it, although the 
 earlier records gave it as the Field, or Bobtail. When 
 the Reems thought they had exhausted the "pay dirt" 
 they sold claims one to four west inclusive, to W. H.
 
 224 COLORADO. 
 
 Hurlbut, together with the historic ox, for a trifle. 
 He sold No. 3 to B. O. Russell, in September, 1859, 
 on time, and leased No. 1 to Walters. In two months 
 Russell had taken out gold enough to pay $500 for 
 the claim and have #1,200 to return to the "states" to 
 winter on. Several lots of ore were crushed at the 
 three stamp Prosser mill put up in October near claim 
 No. 1 on the Gregory. 
 
 B. O. Russell and his partner Crandall, took the 
 first quartz from the Bobtail vein itself. Walters 
 worked all winter and took out a large quantity of 
 dirt, but the cold weather prevented sluicing it until 
 the opening of spring. Joseph W. Holman bought a 
 half interest of numbers 2 and 4, in April, i860, for a 
 sack of flour and an old pistol. Just after that Wal- 
 ters began to sluice his pay dirt, which proved the 
 value of the lode. It yielded $11,500, the result of 
 his winter's work. Hurlbut sold No. I to the Grinnell 
 brothers. The surface dirt, or quartz, was extremely 
 rich all along the lode for a distance of several hun- 
 dred feet. Russell & Co., sold No. 6 to Hill & Arm- 
 strong, in the spring of i860, for $3,000. The follow- 
 ing summer John Sensenderfer bought it of other 
 parties and made money on it for a while. 
 
 In six months Holman purchased Hurlbut's interest 
 for $8,000. He then had claims two and three east, 
 number 4 east and number 1 west. Afterwaads Hol- 
 man sold a claim to Lee, Judd & Lee, for $4,000, 
 they paying one half of the money down. After hold- 
 ing it a year or more, and being unable to pay for it,
 
 COLORADO. 225 
 
 they let Holman have the trade back. Afterwards 
 this same ground paid immensely. The shaft had not 
 been sunk deep enough. From 1859 to ^64, chiefly 
 during the last twenty months of that period, Holman 
 took out $204,000, mainly from No. 2. This three 
 hundred and seventy-two feet of ground with sixty-six 
 and one-third feet beside, was then sold to the Bobtail 
 company for £292,000. So rich was the surface quartz 
 and vein that miners on the Bobtail often obtained 
 more gold from a single "clean up" than one of them 
 could carry. Holman and Hurlbut have been seen 
 with a sack of gold tied to a stick which they carried 
 between them to the bank. 
 
 At first the true value of the lode was unknown. It 
 was then considered no better than hundreds of others. 
 Brownlee gave away one claim to J. F. Field, which 
 the latter sold in after years (1864), for $60,000. He 
 sold his remaining ground for $10,000 in 1862 and 
 thought he had done a good thing. The lode was 
 not generally paying well at that time. Soon after he 
 left with Nuckolls' great mining expedition bound for 
 the Salmon river and Bannock mines, of Idaho ter- 
 ritory, and did not find his way back for ten years. 
 
 Many fortunes were were made by pre-emptors and 
 early purchasers, and the mine was usually gouged 
 out without care or method. 
 
 In the spring of i860, D. G. Wilson brought a stamp 
 
 mill from St. Louis and traded it for an interest in 
 
 Russell & Crandall's claim No. 3. Two months after 
 
 the vein closed up and no gold was obtained until 
 
 15
 
 226 COLORADO. 
 
 1861. Then for two years the yield was enormous. 
 From a depth of sixty to two hundred and fifty feet 
 below the surface there was no stop in the golden 
 shower that fell to the lot of these fortunate miners. 
 The vein was three and one half feet wide, mostly 
 composed of ore that yielded hundreds of dollars per 
 cord in stamp mills, and the amalgam often gathered 
 so thick upon the tables that two "clean ups" were 
 required per day. And yet it is said that but ten or 
 fifteen per cent of the gold contained in the ore was 
 saved by the rude and imperfect mills of that day — 
 and unfortunately there were no smelting works then 
 for the richer ores. Eighty dollars per cord were paid 
 to one Hepburn for getting the ore out of the mine, 
 and thirty dollars per day for the use of an eight 
 stamp mill in Chase gulch. The owners would not 
 touch any ore that yielded less than $125 per cord, 
 but allowed Hepburn to mine and mill that at his own 
 expense and take the proceeds. The total yield in 
 two years was several hundred thousand dollars- 
 Crandall was so elated with his sudden wealth that he 
 drank himself to death in less than a year. 
 
 Wilson disposed of his interest in the spring of 1862 
 and went off to the Salmon river mines. He mined, 
 traveled and prospected over nearly the entire west 
 and South America before his return to Colorado — 
 which was in the fall of 1874. Russell sold to a Mr. 
 Woods, in July, 1862, for $3,250, Hale and Patterson 
 having previously acquired a two-thirds interest. 
 These three men sold to the Sterling company for 
 $280,000, in 1864.
 
 COLORADO. 227 
 
 The thirty-three and one third feet retained on No. 
 5, by Field, proved to be almost one perpendicular 
 chimney of ore, and has yielded altogether something 
 like 5500,000. It is reported that its owner retired 
 to the states with $400,000. It is now mined to a 
 depth of five hundred and twenty-five feet, or seventy- 
 five feet below the level of the tunnel. Ten cords 
 of ore yielded $5,000, and one cord $1,800. 
 
 Sensenderfer had used up the money he obtained 
 from No. 6 in "sinking in cap," and wanted more to 
 make a trip to the states. Smith & Chaffee had 
 become heavily involved in mining on the Clay County 
 lode. They loaned Sensenderfer six hundred dollars 
 for six months, getting the use of his mine for their 
 money. Soon after, they passed through the barren 
 ground and struck it enormously rich. They are said 
 to have cleared thirty-five thousand dollars before his 
 return, and in the meantime bought the adjoining 
 sixty-six and two-thirds feet. Sensenderfer got his 
 claim back and he is said to have obtained $150,000 
 before he sold it, but to have realized little or nothing 
 from the sale. Chaffee and Smith continued to work 
 their claim and then formed a company upon it. 
 They retired in 1864 with fifty thousand dollars each. 
 
 In 1864, eastern companies purchased most of the 
 best developed part of the lode — the Bobtail Gold, in 
 April and May, four hundred and thirty-three and one 
 third feet; the Black Hawk, seventy-two feet, April 8; 
 the Sensenderfer, one hundred and twenty-eight feet, 
 June 25, the Brastow, sixty-six and two-thirds feet on
 
 228 COLORADO. 
 
 No. 5 cast, December 20. At other dates the Trust 
 and Sterling companies each purchased sixty-six and 
 two-thirds feet. Each company worked through sep- 
 arate shafts, and the average depth of these in 1870, 
 was five hundred feet. The limited extent of ground 
 owned by each was a serious drawback to success, 
 and resulted eventually in the sale of the properties of 
 several companies. In 1872, most of the .shaft houses 
 along the line of the lode, were destroyed by fire 
 together with a portion of the timbering in the shafts. 
 The Bobtail tunnel, that was long before started 
 from Gregory gulch, was then driven forward to inter- 
 sect the lode. It first intersected the Fiske lode five 
 hundred and seventy-four feet in, and at last tapped 
 the Bobtail 1,150 feet from the tunnel's mouth, and 
 five hundred feet down on the vein. Mr. A. N. 
 Rogers, who had acted as agent for the Bobtail Gold 
 company since 1865, accomplished the great work in 
 1873, and then induced the heavier stockholders at 
 the east, Messrs. Litchfield, Hoyt and others, and Mr. 
 Chaffee, of Colorado, to favor the purchase by the 
 company, of the Black Hawk mill and of the adjoin- 
 ing claims on the lode, and to proceed with the work 
 of reopening the mine. In 1874, this company had 
 secured with their original territory, nine hundred feet 
 of continuous ground, less Field's thirty-three and 
 one third feet, which divides the property; and in 1875, 
 the vein had been opened so as to produce largely. 
 But up to the present year so much "dead work," 
 development and machinery had been necessary
 
 COLORADO. 229 
 
 together with the rebuilding of the Black Hawk mill, 
 that the profits were small compared to what they are 
 and will be in 1876-7. From thirty to forty per cent, 
 of the gross receipts will probably be profit as soon 
 as the mine is opened with shafts and levels as now 
 contemplated. 
 
 The following will show the value of some of this 
 property purchased. In the two years ending Sep- 
 tember 1st, 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 each were paid previous to November, 1867. 
 At that time mining, milling and other expenses footed 
 up an average expense of #18.30 per ton as against 
 less than #6 at the present time. 
 
 The Bobtail as consolidated under A. N. Rogers, 
 has been worked through the tunnel, which has been 
 driven in two directions along the line of the lode. 
 The mine is worked out to the tunnel level or to a 
 depth of five hundred feet, and the ore now comes 
 from between that level and the one hundred and 
 thirty-five foot level below. This is being run east 
 and west along the vein. A double shaft is being 
 driven near the centre of the property. Its size is six 
 feet by sixteen, and cages and cars are to be used for 
 hoisting ore. At present the ore is of rather low 
 grade, averaging #10 per ton after the more valuable 
 mineral has been selected — say ten per cent, of the 
 whole quantity.
 
 23O COLORADO. 
 
 The Black I lawk and Eagle mills were purchased 
 in 1874, and last year the interior of the former was 
 remodled and rebuilt with new stamps and machinery, 
 making the largest and one of the best and most 
 complete mills in Colorado. . The number of stamps 
 was increased to seventy-five, and three fine twenty- 
 five horse power engines propel the same. For a year 
 seventy-five stamps have been crushing Bob Tail ore, 
 1800 tons having been handled monthly. The yield 
 of this company in 1875 was $207,000, mostly obtained 
 after May I. Much ore was held in reserve until last 
 summer for the water mills. In May, 1876, the Eagle 
 and Sensenderfer mills (twenty stamps each) owned by 
 the company, were started up, while twenty-five stamps 
 were idle in the Black Hawk mill in June, when re- 
 pairs were going on. Later — one hundred and fifteen 
 stamps have been crushing 2,700 tons of ore monthly, 
 the yield of September being $25,000, beside $6,000 
 received for smelting ore. Previous to July 1,800 
 tons of ore and from twenty to twenty-five thousand 
 dollars was the amount of business done. In the 
 month of March however, the total yield was $26,200. 
 The ore lately mined is richer than during last year, 
 and the yield will be increased. 
 
 In the three months ending April 1st, 1876, the 
 yield was $68,050 or nearly $23,000 a month. There 
 is every reason to believe, now that the three mills 
 are employed, that the product for the year ending 
 May, 1877, will approach $400,000. 
 
 Two ton cars, drawn by mules over the tunnel
 
 COLORADO. 23I 
 
 track, convey the ore from the mine to the tunnel 
 mouth, whence it is taken to the mills in wagons. At 
 the junction of the tunnel with the mine are the 
 engines, boilers and hoisting machinery, which have a 
 capacity for operations of the largest scale. The boiler 
 smoke stack passes up one of the old shafts, five 
 hundred and twenty feet to daylight — the lower two 
 hundred and fifty feet being of brick, and the upper 
 portion of iron. Machine drills and Rand's electric 
 blasting batteries are used in the mine. This com- 
 pany employs one hundred and sixty men. 
 
 Outside of the Bobtail Gold company's property 
 more work is being done than for several years. H. W 
 Lake is again working his claim No. 2 west, where he 
 had quit work on account of water, and for the pur- 
 pose of putting in machinery, including an engine. 
 The shaft is now four hundred and twenty-five feet 
 deep. It was sunk for a distance of one hundred and 
 forty feet through "cap," but has passed through low 
 grade ore for the last seventy-five feet, which yields 
 from four to five ounces and under. Owing to devel- 
 opment and improvements made, the expenses have 
 been heavier than they will be in future, but by run- 
 ning the ore in this water-mill the mine paid its way 
 last year. Its yield in 1875 was $12,800. Mr. Lake 
 is now working the Field claim of thirty-three and 
 one-third feet, which has a five foot vein of four or five 
 ounce ore below the tunnel level, through which the 
 ore is conveyed to daylight. Two and a half ounces 
 pays expenses now that the ore is treated at the 
 water-mill.
 
 2 $2 COLORADO. 
 
 J. H. Lafrenz owns claim No. 8 east, which he 
 bought of the Black Hawk company. After sinking 
 two hundred and forty feet through "cap" he struck a 
 fine body of ore near the close of last year, which 
 produced nearly $2,000 in a short time and is turning 
 out much better now. Still further east Holman is 
 working the Denmark, east 1,500 feet of the Bobtail 
 vein, and ;s sinking a shaft to a depth of two hundred 
 and fifty feet, to develop the property. 
 
 The following was the yield of the entire lode in 
 1875: 
 
 Bobtail Company received for stamp mill gold and from 
 
 the smelter $207,000 
 
 Actual yield of smelting ore, Ac , over am't paid (estimated) 26,000 
 
 Lake's claim . . . 12,800 
 
 La Frenz and others i,9°° 
 
 $247.7°° 
 
 The lode will probably double these figures for the 
 year 1877. 
 
 West of the ravine, J. W. Holman has surveyed the 
 course of the lode and claims to have the vein in the 
 1,500 feet of ground he has patented as the Cashier. 
 The value, size and appearance of the crevice indicate 
 it to be the extension of the Bobtail west. Here is a 
 shaft one hundred and fifty feet deep, with a fifty foot 
 drift to an air shaft. Two hundred and fifty cords ol 
 ore have yielded from two and one-third to nineteen 
 and one-half ounces of gold to the cord.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE BATES AND OTHER LODES. 
 
 The Bates Lode— Remarkable yield of several Properties- 
 Other Lodes in the Eastern part of the District — Ger- 
 man, Fiske, Mammoth, Running, Central City, etc. 
 
 The Bates is one of the main veins of the country 
 but has been worked only at intervals. It passes com- 
 pletely over Bates hill, across Gregory gulch on to 
 Mammoth hill, where it is known as the Bates and 
 Hunter and is probably identical with the German. 
 It is owned and more or less developed for a distance 
 of nearly a mile, and has given a total yield of about 
 $800,000. This amount was taken almost entirely 
 from two or three properties on the lode, in four or 
 five years time, the lode having been idle more than 
 twice that length of time. The course of the vein is 
 about northeast, being parallel to the Gregory, Gaston 
 and Gregory Second. 
 
 The Bates was discovered by John H. Gregory, of 
 the Gregory lode, May 19, 1859, an d was the second 
 lode found in the district. Captain Wm. H. Bates had 
 obtained the services of Gregory, but recorded the 
 claims as his own, and then deeded Gregory one-half 
 of the two hundred feet which the law of that time . 
 allowed a discoverer. 
 
 In early days a rude kind of tramway, consisting of 
 a track of three smooth poles was constructed from
 
 -M4 COLORADO. 
 
 scores of mines (located far up on the steep hill sides) 
 on which the rich surface dirt was sent down to the 
 gulches below in sacks deposited and fastened on 
 beeves hides. There the dirt was panned, washed or 
 sluiced and the gold obtained therefrom. From the 
 surface workings of this lode, Captain Bates and Pack- 
 ard, ofteu obtained from $50 to $75 from a flour sack 
 full of dirt. 
 
 In 1863 and 1864, ten eastern companies bought 
 and came into possession of parts of this lode. On 
 the southeastern slope of the Bates hill, the Union 
 Gold Company owns two hundred feet, the Bates and 
 Baxter three hundred. The Rocky Mountain, owns 
 two hundred and fifty feet. In the spring of 1864, 
 E. K. Baxter, sold to the Baxter Company three hun- 
 dred feet. Afterwards, when the company agents 
 started up work, they got off of the crevice thirty feet, 
 in sinking a distance of one hundred feet, and believ- 
 ing the mine was of no value abandoned work. It 
 paid well when Baxter owned it. In the first three 
 months of 1864, with only two drills at work, he took 
 out $40,000 at a cost of only $20,000; $28,000 being 
 taken from one shaft, while the yield of January alone 
 was $16,333. 
 
 On the other slope of Bates hill is the Loker Com- 
 pany's property, four hundred feet, which in 1875 and 
 '76, has been worked through a tunnel from Chase 
 gulch by a party of leasers and has paid well. The 
 southeastern part of the vein, ascending Mammoth 
 hill takes the name of Bates and Hunter and is owned
 
 COLORADO. 235 
 
 as follows: J. H. Borham, two hundred feet, H. B. 
 Morse, two hundred feet; Thos. I. Richmond, three 
 hundred feet ; T. H. Becker, four hundred feet; and 
 the Susquehanna Company, or Rockwell & Co., three 
 hundred feet. Parts of the lode have been worked 
 at intervals, but none of it continuously for the past 
 decade. 
 
 The two hundred feet bought by the Union Gold 
 Company, (Nos. I and 2 west) had no vein or ore bod- 
 ies of consequence near the surface as did other claims, 
 and the shaft was sunk two hundred and fifty feet 
 before any "pay" was struck. Then it proved enor- 
 mously rich. The average width of the vein is five 
 or six feet, but it varies from two to twenty feet, carry- 
 ing ore that mills from four to twenty ounces per cord, 
 or from $10 to $50 per ton, while the picked ore, sells 
 to the smelter at from $50 to $300 per ton. Between 
 the two hundred and fifty and three hundred foot level, 
 the deepest point of the mine then reached, $500,000 
 was obtained, and $205,000 of this came out in sixteen 
 consecutive months of 1 866. Owing to company diffi- 
 culties the mine has remained idle nearly all of the 
 time for the past six years, although immense masses 
 of rich ore were left standing in the mine. The mine 
 was leased in January, 1876, since when the shaft has 
 been sunk seventy feet, being now four hundred and 
 twenty feet deep, with rich ore in the bottom. The 
 writer has recently seen an offer of $240 per ton for 
 the smelting ore. Colorado has few veins as good as 
 this.
 
 236 COLORADO. 
 
 The Rocky Mountain Company sunk their shaft 
 nearly four hundred feet, and put up expensive build- 
 ings and machinery, but were not very successful. 
 The Borham property has yielded altogether $150,000 
 of which $100,000 came out in ten months of 1868. 
 This mine is now three hundred and fifty feet deep, 
 and is worked on a small scale. Other properties 
 have been opened to various depths. 
 
 The German lode is evidently the extension south- 
 west of the Bates-Hunter. It is worked in three 
 adjoining places and yields a fair profit. A shaft near 
 the east end, or the Bates-Hunter, has been deepened 
 over one hundred feet lately. This shows a veiy rich 
 ore body. Further west are eight hundred and fifteen 
 feet of ground owned by the Susquehanna Company, 
 and worked under lease by Nichols and Rowe. Deep- 
 est workings two to three hundred feet. Beyond this, 
 is four hundred and eighty-five feet of territory owned 
 and worked by the Kline brothers, who have a fine 
 four foot vein in the two hundred and fifty foot shaft. 
 In a period of two years this lode yielded 3,900 tons 
 of ore and 8,775 ounces of gold, worth $166,825 or 
 an average of $42 per ton. 
 
 The Fiske lode, is situated on Bobtail hill, and is 
 intersected by the Bobtail tunnel, five hundred and 
 seventy- four feet from the mouth of the latter and 
 at a depth of two hundred and seventy-five feet. It is 
 owned by a number of companies and individuals, and 
 at one time and another has yielded a large amount 
 of gold. Since May 1873, George W. Mabee has
 
 COLORADO. 237 
 
 leased the property from a company and worked it to 
 a depth of four hundred and forty feet, or one hundred 
 and sixty-five feet below the tunnel level. For over 
 a year he has made no use of the tunnel, but has 
 hoisted the ore to the surface on the hill side. In 
 twenty months, ending January 1,1875, this mine is 
 said to have yielded $67,000. The average expenses 
 of mining and milling were $12.86 per ton, and the 
 average yield was $21.38, for mill ore, and $124.63 
 for smelting ore. Since then the yield of the mine 
 is said to have been greater and the expenses smaller. 
 The current expenses are usually large by reason of 
 the vein being narrow and the rock very hard. 
 
 J. W. Holman, has patented 1,500 feet on the Fiske 
 vein, commencing at No; 13, and extending east, under 
 the name of the Sleepy Hollow, on which numerous 
 shafts have been sunk. A party of Cornishmen are 
 working claim No. 12, next to Mabee with great profit. 
 John Rank owns No. 13 east, and Holman's property 
 extends from there, over and down Bobtail hill into 
 Black Hawk. 
 
 The Smith lode, crosses the sharp rocky ridge 
 between Chase and North Clear creek gulches. It is 
 thought to be a continuation of the Buell and Greg- 
 ory Second. The part opened to any extent, is now 
 leased and worked by Wm. Lindsley, and has one 
 shaft one hundred and twenty feet deep, and has 
 been worked out thirty feet on each side to a depth 
 of twenty-five feet. The crevice is from five to four- 
 teen feet wide, and the yield of the ore crushed in the
 
 238 • COLORADO. 
 
 stamp mills has been unusually large, averaging six 
 and one-half ounces or $13455 per cord. The yield 
 from this limited development has been $31,000. 
 
 On Mammoth hill are the Mountain City and the 
 Cashier lodes. The former produced from two men's 
 work $5,000 in 1875. The ore was of very fair quality. 
 The Cashier is owned by J. W. Holman. In sinking 
 a shaft ninety feet $4,120 were obtained besides what 
 was paid for very rich smelting ore. Near by is the 
 Treasure owned by Holman & Co. Shaft fifty-five 
 feet deep covered by a building eighteen by twenty- 
 two feet. This vein is five feet wide, largely composed 
 of ore yielding seven ounces. The propertay is a 
 relocation. 
 
 The First Centennial is situated on the south side 
 of Chase gulch, a half mile above Black Hawk. It is 
 owned by L. C. Miley and R. S. Haight, and has five 
 shafts. The vein is very large and yields from twenty 
 to sixty dollars per ton. 
 
 There are a number of lodes that have produced 
 largely on the surface, or at some time of their history 
 but have been nearly or entirely idle for years. Their 
 pay veins, or pockets, had given out, and their owners 
 or those who purchased them, were either afraid or 
 had not the money to sink down upon them. For- 
 tunes were made from several of these. 
 
 The Gaston, on Bates hill, was immensely rich on 
 the surface. On the north side of Chase gulch is the 
 Maryland, now owned for a length of three thousand 
 feet, by T. H. Becker. The original owners took
 
 COLORADO. 239 
 
 from the soft surface material of this lode by wash- 
 ing, in one month in 1859 and two months in i860, the 
 snug little sum of $42,000. They then came down to 
 the "iron" and that stopped them, as it did everyone 
 in the early days. Now almost the entire dependence 
 of the country, it was then the signal to quit work. 
 "Iron" is the term applied by the miners to the com- 
 mon gold ore of this district. 
 
 The Casto, on Casto hill, was one immense pocket 
 of surface quartz spangled and glittering with gold — 
 but this was exhausted in time, although parts of the 
 vein are still being worked. The Sullivan, or Ute, 
 the Spinney, and Justice, are examples of this sur- 
 prisingly rich surface material and are to-day enriching 
 their owners. 
 
 The Gregory Second, on Bates hill, is evidently the 
 west extension of the Leavitt. It is owned by various 
 companies and individuals and has been worked at 
 intervals ever since its discovery in 1859. The Havilah 
 company own the best developed part. Sam. Mellor, 
 and others, have worked this to a depth of four hun- 
 dred feet. 
 
 The Running lode extends over Bobtail hill, down 
 to the vicinity of the Black Hawk depot. It is a large 
 vein and usually quite rich in lead, but carrying a fair 
 quantity of gold. It is owned by Commodore Rodney 
 French, the hero of the "Stone Fleet" sunk in Charles- 
 ton harbor, in 1861. He personally operated the mine 
 some years ago. At present it is worked under lease 
 and is paying well.
 
 24O COLORADO. 
 
 The Mammoth extends along Mammoth hill in an 
 east and west direction from near the western terminus 
 of the Bobtail, for a distance of nearly 3,000 feet. 
 Further west in a line with this lode, after crossing 
 Spring gulch into Quartz hill we have the Borton, 
 Roderick Dhu, Gardner, Illinois, Egyptian, California, 
 Kent County, and others, some of which may be con- 
 tinuations of the same vein. The Mammoth is a vein 
 of immense size, but much of the ore is of low grade. 
 With proper management or with the outlay of a small 
 amount of capital for development and putting the 
 mine in shape, this may yet prove one of the most 
 profitable pieces of property in the country. Previous 
 to 1875 but little work had been done upon it for sev- 
 eral years. One leaser is said to have cleared $10,000 
 last year on one claim, and others on one part of the 
 Morse property are now taking out large amounts of 
 ore from a depth of sixty feet, where the crevice is 
 from five to twelve feet wide, with an average value of 
 about $9 per ton. H. B. Morse owns 1,500 feet, most 
 of it lying together near the centre of the lode. There 
 is one shaft over four hundred feet deep on this prop- 
 erty, but no work has been done there lately. There 
 are several owners to other parts of this lode, which 
 was preempted in the "early days" for a distance of 
 3,000 feet. 
 
 On Central City hill are the Bugher and Bull of the 
 Woods lodes, owned and worked by Joseph Hafer & 
 Co. Over 2,000 tons from the former yielded at the 
 rate of $12,50 per ton. The latter has much more 
 valuable ore.
 
 COLORADO. 24I 
 
 The Central City lode owned by Dr. A. A. Smith, 
 and discovered in i860 has a northeast and southwest 
 direction, and the main shaft is situated just above the 
 corner of Spring and Gregory streets, and above the 
 City buildings. Some work was done on this lode in 
 1872, but the "gouge" only was taken out, leaving the 
 main body of ore standing on the foot wall. This 
 was not known then, and work was stopped, and the 
 mine left idle. In May, 1876, Nichols, Peers & Co. 
 leased the lode (eight hundred feet.) Their first shot 
 was fired in the "gouge" lying against the south wall, 
 and the result was the discovery of the main vein or 
 ore body, which is of unusual size. This was at a 
 depth of one hundred and forty feet. As far as drifted 
 the crevice has been eight feet wide — all paying ore. 
 Less than ten tons of rock has been found that was 
 poor enough to throw away, while four hundred and 
 fifty tons of ore were sold or treated during the months 
 of May and June. The ore is of low grade, but the 
 great quantity is what renders the mine so profitable. 
 A few cords of ore were crushed in stamp mills, yield- 
 ing from two to three and-a-half ounces of gold and 
 over to the cord. Nearly the entire product has been 
 sold to the Collom Dressing and Concentrating works, 
 and afterwards smelted at Golden. This establish- 
 ment buys the ore and has paid from $3,20 to $5.60 
 per ton. It costs $1,50 per ton to mine and raise the 
 ore, and lessjthan seventy-five cents to transport it to 
 the selling point. The receipts for the two months 
 were about $1,890 and expenses $1,000, leaving a 
 16
 
 242 COLORADO. 
 
 profit of SS90. The yield can be made much larger 
 now that the mine is getting opened so as to admit of 
 a larger force. Of course the smelting works obtained 
 several thousands of dollars from the above ore. 
 The ore carries iron pyrites and some streaks of lead 
 are becoming visible, making it average about eight 
 and a-half tons to the cord. Sinking and drifting are 
 going on steadily, and the yield of July has been 
 from seventy to one hundred tons of ore per week. 
 The vein is eigb or nine feet wide. The mine has 
 maintained its previous yield for the past three 
 months and shows no signs of giving out.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE BUELL AND THE O K. MINES. 
 
 One of the Treasure vaults of Gilpin — A Mine beneath the 
 City — What has been done there — The Buell mine and 
 mill — The O. K. lode — Systematic and intelligent min- 
 ing — A store house of ore. 
 
 The Buell mine, one of the largest and most valu- 
 able in Gilpin county, is owned by Bela S. Buell, and 
 has produced altogether nearly $1,000,000. It com- 
 prises the Leavitt, Vasa (U. P. R.), its extension west, 
 and the Kip, connecting with the Leavitt at an angle 
 of twenty-five degrees. Here are five thousand feet 
 of veins, twenty-four hundred feet of which are cov- 
 ered by United States patents. Nine shafts have been 
 sunk upon the property, four of which are working 
 shafts, varying in depth from two hundred and twenty 
 to five hundred and sixty feet, and opening up the 
 ground for a length of two thousand feet. The mine 
 is opened and timbered in first-class shape and has 
 three sets of hoisting works. It is located in the very 
 heart of Central. 
 
 The Leavitt vein extends under and across Gregory 
 gulch southwesterly into Mammoth hill, and at length 
 becomes the Vasa, and eventually the O. K. In the 
 opposite direction it passes through Bates hill under 
 the name of the Gregory Second, and is probably 
 identical with the Smith, on the eastern side of Chase
 
 244 COLORADO. 
 
 gulch. Like the Gregory and Bobtail, the vein is of 
 unusual size, having an average width of from six to 
 eight feet, but is often fifteen or twenty feet wide- 
 Hut little work was done on it until 1871. 
 
 At that time the mine began to yield largely, and 
 after it had been opened extensively, and furnished 
 with powerful hoisting works, it equalled, and at times 
 surpassed in production, any other property. In four 
 years Buell obtained therefrom between $500,000 and 
 $600,000. This was obtained from four hundred feet 
 of ground, in the centre of which is the main shaft, 
 worked down to a depth of five hundred feet. There 
 are over four thousand feet of levels, run at a distance 
 of fifty feet one below another. Forty-five tons of 
 ore were mined, hoisted and crushed daily, with an 
 average yield often dollars perton. A large quantity 
 of ore was sold to the smelting works for over one 
 hundred dollars per ton, indicating a value of one hun- 
 dred and fifty dollars. The Leavitt vein carries a kind 
 of silicious feldspathic rock that is mined very cheaply. 
 The usual cost of running levels has been five dollars 
 per foot, and of stoping, fifteen dollars per fathom, 
 which is much less than with most mines. Sinking the 
 main shaft formerly cost fifty dollars per foot but now 
 costs thirty-five dollars. The ore is mined, hoisted and 
 milled at the small expense of five dollars per ton. 
 Mining the ore costs two dollars and fifty cents, hoist- 
 ing, fifty cents, and milling two dollars. The mine 
 and mill have usually given employment to one hun- 
 dred men.
 
 COLORADO. 245 
 
 The writer has obtained the exact figures of receipts 
 and expenses for a portion of 1872 and for 1873. 
 They will show the reduction that has taken place in 
 the cost of mining, and to some extent the capacity 
 of the mine when it was opened only to a limited 
 extent. The yield for the last eight months of 1872, 
 was 7,917 tons of ore, for which $105,185.98 were 
 received, being a yield of $13.28 per ton, including two 
 hundred and three tons of smelting ore, at $1 12 per 
 ton. The outlays per ton were $7.07 for mining, $3.19 
 for milling, and twenty-three cents for incidentals, or a 
 total of $10.49 per ton, or of $83,443.49 in all, leaving 
 a profit of $21,742.49, or $2.79 per ton. In 1873 the 
 mine was shut down one month owing to the miners' 
 strike, leaving but eleven months of actual work. 
 There were 14,850 tons of ore mined including the 
 smelting ore, which usually sold for $100, but occa- 
 sionally for $200. The returns were $143,706.86, or 
 at the rate of $9.67 per ton, with a profit of $3.16 per 
 ton. The expenses were $96,822; profits $46,878.86. 
 The outlays per ton were, for mining, $4.25, hauling, 
 fifty cents, milling, $1.60, incidentals, seventeen cents, 
 or a total of $6.52. This is a reduction of $3.97 per 
 ton over the cost of the preceding year, or of nearly 
 forty per cent. More recently expenses of all kinds 
 have been cut down to five dollars per ton, while the 
 ore yields as ever, and as soon as contemplated devel- 
 opment is accomplished, the total cost of mining, 
 milling and hoisting may be reduced to four dollars 
 per ton, which will leave a wide margin for profits.
 
 246 COLORADO. 
 
 In some portions of the property ore is now being 
 mined and raised for $1.25 per ton. The amount of 
 coal used for the mill and hoisting works is about one 
 ton of coal to twelve tons of ore mined and milled, or 
 four tons per day, at a cost of $5.25 per ton. 
 
 After considerable time and expense, Mr. Buell suc- 
 ceeded in consolidating the Leavitt, Vasa and Kip, as 
 one property. The latter mines are located further 
 up the (Mammoth) hill. On the Vasa is one shaft 
 two hundred and sixty feet and another two hundred 
 and fifty feet deep, the latter being the old U. P. R. 
 shaft. In eighteen months this property produced 
 nearly seven thousand tons of ore, worth $18 per ton. 
 The vein at this point is usually from three to six feet 
 wide. On the Kip, which comprises twelve hundred 
 feet of territory, are two shafts two hundred and sixty 
 and two hundred and twenty feet deep, respectively, 
 with levels from one hundred to three hundred feet 
 long. This vein almost compares with the Leavitt, 
 being from four to eight feet wide, and occasionally 
 from fifteen to twenty, with mill ore yielding from 
 $8.00 to $20.00 per ton, and smelting ore that assays 
 $100.00. There are nearly two thousand feet of levels 
 in the Kip and Vasa. The latter has one level (one 
 hundred and ten feet deep), which is six hundred feet 
 long. 
 
 The mill site is in Gregory gulch and beside the 
 main street intersecting Central and Black Hawk, and 
 comprises 67,500 square feet of ground. On this 
 stands the massive fire-proof stone building containing
 
 COLORADO. 247 
 
 the stamp mill and hoisting works, machine shop and 
 blacksmith shops. It is one hundred and thirty-five 
 feet in length and varies in width from fifty to one 
 hundred feet. The mill — one of the finest in the 
 country — contains sixty stamps, one half of which 
 weigh five hundred pounds each, and the remainder 
 six hundred and fifty pounds each. The lighter 
 stamps are run at the rate of thirty drops per minute, 
 and the heavier ones at twenty-five drops per minute. 
 The mill contains four sections, each having three five- 
 stamp batteries, in front of which extends a track eight 
 feet above the floor, from which the ore is dumped 
 from cars as it comes from the mine. On the oppo- 
 site side of the stamps a copper plated table eight feet 
 long by five feet wide, is attached to each battery, suc- 
 ceeded by another set of tables, or sluices where Cali- 
 fornia blankets are used to save what has failed to 
 amalgamate on the copper plates. There are six large 
 Freiberg pans that are next brought into requisition 
 to save what has escaped the previous treatment, and 
 the washings of the blankets are deposited in them 
 every half hour. From sixty to seventy per cent, of 
 the assay value is saved. The entire machinery of the 
 mill is run by an eighty-horse power engine and the 
 steam is supplied by three tubular and two five-flue 
 boilers. 
 
 The powerful hoisting works, capable of raising 
 upwards of one hundred and fifty tons of ore daily, 
 and of sustaining a strain of 40,000 pounds, and hav- 
 ing no superior in the district, occupy the western por-
 
 248 COLORADO. 
 
 tion of the building. Below is the main shaft five 
 hundred and sixty feet deep and steadily growing 
 deeper. A depth of 1.000 feet will be attained before 
 sinking will be discontinued, which would give a 
 depth on the Kip of 1,300 feet. The entire property 
 will be worked from this shaft by levels. The hoisting 
 machinery is run by a seventy-horse power vertical 
 double-cylinder engine. The main shaft (which is 
 perpendicular) is timbered in the most substantial 
 manner, and is divided into three copartments. Two 
 of these are arranged for safety cages, on which iron 
 cars containing one ton of ore can be raised — one 
 ascending as the other descends. Upon reaching the 
 surface or mouth of the shaft these cars are placed on 
 the crack, run forward to the batteries and emptied. 
 The same car is then returned to the bottom of the 
 shaft and run upon the tracks, starting from that 
 point on through the subterranean levels, to that part 
 of the mine where needed, when the same operation is 
 repeated. The steam and water pipes connecting with 
 the pumps are located in the other department of the 
 shaft. The mine is kept clear of water by two of 
 Knowles steam pumps, one at the three hundred and 
 one at the five hundred foot level. They are capable 
 of throwing one hnndred gallons of water per minute 
 a distance of five hundred feet — although the mine 
 makes but twenty-five gallons per minute. Another 
 larger pump of the same manufacture is being put in 
 below the others. 
 
 Outside of the mill are huge reservoirs and settling
 
 COLORADO. 249 
 
 tanks for retaining water, so that it can be used over and 
 over again. Without them the water supply would be 
 too limited. They have a capacity of 500,000 gallons. 
 With the ample water power that the completion of 
 the Consolidated Ditch enterprise would ensure, ex- 
 penses wonld be so reduced that the annual profits of 
 the Buell mine would be increased many thousands of 
 dollars. 
 
 Near the mill building are the office, storerooms 
 and assay office of the mine. The Territorial assayer, 
 Mr. Gray, makes his headquarters here. 
 
 The total cost of the mill, hoisting machinery and 
 other surface improvements completed in 1874 was 
 over $100,000, and this came from the profits of the 
 mine in three years time. The total outlay for sink- 
 ing the main shaft — seven feet wide by fifteen long — 
 has been reduced to £35 per foot. Another year will 
 see the entire mine opened up so that it will produce 
 far more extensively than at any previous time. 
 
 The O. K. lode is a continuation on the west of the 
 great Buell or Leavitt vein. The principal workings 
 have been opened since November, 1875. One of the 
 shafts was then covered by a large substantial shaft 
 house in which a California whim for hoisting was 
 placed. This shaft has since been deepened from forty 
 feet to three hundred and thirty, and is daily getting 
 deeper. Recently steam power became necessary for 
 hoisting, and a thirty-horse power engine works &c, 
 supplanted whim or horse power. The mine is being 
 opened by a number of levels. Not long ago the
 
 25O COLORADO. 
 
 forty- five foot and the two hundred and twenty-five 
 foot levels had been run about fifty feet in each direc- 
 tion from the shaft. That run at a depth of one hun- 
 dred and thirteen feet was one hundred and twenty 
 feet long. Nearer the bottom of the shaft are other 
 drifts. It has been the purpose of the owner to thor- 
 oughly open the mine before taking out any ore ex- 
 cept what must be removed in sinking and drifting. 
 Consequently a very large mass of ore remains in the 
 mine ready to be broken in the future. 
 
 Few mines have been as systematically operated 
 from the beginning, and the good judgment displayed 
 will tell most satifactorily hereafter. For a time the 
 vein maintained a width of from two to three feet, but 
 more recently it has increased to four. Most of the 
 ore milled six ounces per cord, or $15 per ton, after a 
 quantity had been selected that the smelter paid from 
 $30 to $90 per ton for. Various lots of ore have been 
 sold to the different smelters. Collom paid from $15 
 to $\y per ton for much of the common vein matter 
 which he afterwards concentrated. It contained eleven 
 per cent, of copper. From ten to twenty tons are 
 mined daily. A vein of solid ore of this description 
 and having a width of four feet is not often met with 
 and proves extremely profitable. Fifteen men are 
 employed and more will be. There will be no water 
 of any consequence until a depth of one thousand feet 
 is attained, as the Buell and Gregory drain this crevice. 
 This property, 1,500 feet in length, is owned by
 
 COLORADO. 25I 
 
 James W. Hanna, who has secured a government 
 patent thereon. It is considered one of the best lodes 
 of Gilpin county, and its yield has shown that there 
 are good things still to be found outside of the deep 
 mines.
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE GUNNELL LODK AND THE WHITING. 
 
 fStoty of the Ghmnell and its early Operators— How For- 
 tunes were made— Big pay and Big Sales— Disasters 
 of the Companies — What has been accomplished by 
 (rilpin County Miners — A Big Bonanza — Enormous 
 Profits— The Whiting— Is it the main Vein?— Satisfac- 
 tion 
 
 The Gunnell lode, so justly celebrated in former 
 years, is again one of the main supports of Gilpin 
 county, and bids fair to realize dreams as extravagant 
 as those of its original owners. A portion of it was 
 brought into condition this year to yield more gold 
 than the entire vein did in its palmiest days, while the 
 remainder is being put in shape for future operations. 
 The vein has been opened and is now worked for the 
 distance of a mile. 
 
 Among the thousands who drifted westward to this 
 land of gold in search of a fortune in 1859, was a 
 New York boy by the name of Harry Gunnell, who 
 had previously followed the avocation of a clerk. He 
 knew nothing of mining or prospecting, but was kindly 
 shown how to search for lodes by a newly made friend. 
 Like hundreds of others, he started out over the hills 
 that surrounded Central, and soon found what has 
 since proved to be one of the great fissure veins of 
 the country, and to which he gave his name. The
 
 COLORADO. 253 
 
 yield of the Gunnell has been second only to those of 
 the Gregory and Bobtail. The surface quartz was 
 extremely valuable, and the lucky finder, after three 
 years of very successful mining, sold the two hundred 
 feet, to which he was entitled by right of discovery, 
 for $40,000, The remaining claims on the lode, were 
 taken up by numerous other parties. Some of them 
 secured one hundred feet, while one preemptor ob- 
 tained but eighteen inches and another seven feet. 
 
 At the time of high prices, wild speculation and 
 ready sales in 1863-65, almost the whole lode was 
 sold to various companies at the east, the entire pur- 
 chase money aggregating $800,000, and then the prop- 
 erty was stocked for millions. Harry, like so many 
 others who have suddenly acquired wealth, could not 
 stand prosperity, but squandered his snug little pile of 
 $40,000 and died poor, but never envious of those 
 whose fortunes he had been the cause of making. 
 
 During these years surpassingly rich ore had been 
 mined from the Gunnell. On what is now known as 
 the University and Coleman claims, it was no unusual 
 thing"to obtain $100 worth of gold from a single pan 
 full of dirt, and to receive hundreds of dollars from a 
 single cord of ore. Gunnell discovered the vein on 
 the eastern part of what is now known as the Gun- 
 nell Gold property. The surface dirt and quartz, was 
 extremely rich, and several parties retired with a 
 competence. 
 
 Among the memorable characters connected with 
 this lode in the early days was a kind genial gentle-
 
 254 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 man from Wisconsin, named Doe, who, like many 
 others walked into the country with his pack upon 
 his back. " Fifty-niners" may remember a sermon 
 he preached on the Sabbath after his arrival, on the 
 point of rocks near what is now the heart of Central. 
 Several hundred men gathered to listen to the eloquent 
 speaker who was then called Reverend. His exhorta- 
 tions to his fellow gold hunters to follow the paths of 
 truth and righteousness, and the vivid pictures he drew 
 of the far off homes they had left behind them, brought 
 tears to the eyes of many of his hearers. He closed 
 by inviting them to visit his tent that evening to hear 
 another sermon. A number put in an appearence but 
 somehow the discourse that night proved to be a 
 soc'al game of "Twenty one," and Doe's earnings 
 therefrom enabled him to buy a claim on the newly 
 found Gunnell, which he mined with great profit. He 
 afterwards gallantly led a Wisconsin regiment in the 
 war of the rebellion, and in course of time, resigned 
 and returned to Colorado to work his mine, which he 
 subsequently sold for $100,000. 
 
 The following are the names of the original pre- 
 emptors on the main part of the Gunnell proper; 
 besides Harry Gunnell east of discovery, J. F. Baily, 
 and D. McLeod, had claim No. 1, (one hundred feet,) 
 C. Cooper & Co., No. 2, David J. Sanders, No. 3, J. 
 B. Percy, had eight feet, and C. L. Malory fifteen feet, 
 Chase, Sewry, and Morey, had nearly three hundred 
 feet, A. P. Wright et al, had claims one to five west, 
 inclusive, five hundred feet, Getz and Bashore and
 
 COLORADO. 255 
 
 afterwards C. Cooper & Co., had No. 6, west of dis- 
 covery, and W. C. Simpson & Co., had seven to eleven 
 west inclusive. Among the owners of the first and 
 earlier years who mined extensively were A. P. Wright, 
 Col. W. H. Doe, John Ralfe, John Scudder, John H. 
 Hense, Alexander and Coleman. James White, ob- 
 tained in the earlier years, twenty-six feet, through a 
 loan of $3,000. From that day to this he has allowed 
 any one to mine it who chose ; they to keep all they 
 made. 
 
 Among the companies organized at the east, on this 
 lode, was the Central Gold Mining Company, which 
 bought two hundred feet on the eastern part of the 
 vein, of John Armor, W. H. Russell, and John Scud- 
 der, for $80,000 and paid the money down. 
 
 The Gunnell Gold Company purchased four hun- 
 dred feet of A. P. Wright, W. H. Dodge and Warren 
 Hussey, for $300,000, March 16, 1864. Before the 
 sale was effected, a request came from New York, to 
 extend the time for which the property was bonded 
 another month. At a meeting of the owners in Hus- 
 sey's bank, much opposition was displayed to this 
 proposition until Doe entered the bank with an im- 
 mense gold retort, the result of the last mill run. 
 Then the time was very readily given. That month 
 $40,000 were obtained from the mine, more than half 
 of which was profit. 
 
 In those times the richest part of the lode and the 
 largest profits were made on what are now the Univer- 
 sity and Coleman properties, and the entire Gunnell
 
 256 COLORADO. 
 
 vein yielded not far from $500,000, up to 1864. June 
 21, 1864, the University Company paid Otis and Wil- 
 son $40,000, for one hundred and thirty-two feet. 
 Coleman sold one hundred and fifty-five feet to the 
 Coleman Company for $70,000. It paid $10,000 down, 
 but never delivered the remainder. J. H. Hense, sold 
 No. 7 west. Kimber has No. 8, and G. W. Gorsline, 
 has Nos. 9, 10 and 1 1. 
 
 The following are the present owners of the Gunnell 
 
 proper, beginning at the eastern end: 
 
 1 1 1.1 
 
 Central Gold Mining Company 200 
 
 University Company 143 
 
 Coleman 155 
 
 Gunnell Central Company (property divided,) 200 
 
 Sweetzer 25 
 
 James White 26 
 
 W. M. Roworth 50 
 
 Cook Company, of Boston 50 
 
 Gunnell Gold, recently purchased by Kimber, Fullerton, 
 
 Mackay, Moseley and Clinton 485 
 
 Little Gunnell Company, or J. V. Kimber 200 
 
 West of here comes the enormously rich Grand 
 Army Gunnell, and to the east of the first named 
 company are the Sayer and Scudder properties. 
 
 The first agent of the Gunnell Gold company was 
 General Fitz John Porter. He received a salary of 
 $15,000 per annum, and had a full staff of high-priced 
 clerks and subalterns. A large stone mill was built 
 in Black Hawk under his supervision, but its costly 
 machinery, that came across the plains at enormous 
 expense during the Indian blockade of 1864, was 
 never set in motion. The only use the building was 
 ever put to was as the depot and general freight and
 
 COLORADO. 257 
 
 ware house of the Colorado Central Railway, for which 
 purpose it is now occupied. Porter shipped east $109,- 
 000 from the mine during the year ending July 1, 1865. 
 John B. Fitzpatrick succeeded Porter, and shipped 
 $482,000 worth of gold up to August 1, 1867, making 
 $591,000 currency value, in about three years. Du- 
 ring this time there was a great deal of mismanage- 
 ment, and for various causes, labor, mining supplies, 
 and other expenses, were enormously high, and a 
 heavy bonded indebtedness was incurred. 
 
 The Gunnell Gold company abandoned work in 
 1867, when a depth of five hundred feet had been 
 attained, and the mine was left to fill with water. The 
 property afterwards passed into the hands of the bond- 
 holders, Foster, Thompson & Co. of New York. The 
 careers of several other companies were also quite 
 eventful, showing large returns at times, but event- 
 ually winding up in somewhat the same manner as 
 the above, or allowing the property to fall into other 
 hands. The vein was often extremely rich and pro- 
 ductive, and some idea of the yield of the entire lode 
 may be obtained in those years of activity from the 
 above figures given by the bookkeeper of the Gunnell 
 Gold company for that single mine. 
 
 The Gunnell Gold property lay idle from 1867 to 
 1872, when the Church brothers leased it, removed 
 the water, and in fifteen months sold $53,718 worth of 
 gold. The ore body then gave out and for lack of 
 capital the leasers suspended work. 
 
 In January, 1874, Kimber, Fullerton, Clinton, 
 17
 
 258 COLORADO. 
 
 Mackey and Moscley leased this property, and after a 
 heavy outlay placed the mine in working order, and 
 began to operate the same, together with ground 
 claimed by them on the west. They sunk the five 
 hundred foot shaft down to a depth of seven hundred 
 feet, and ran levels east and west. Before this the 
 outlook was as discouraging as that of the Consoli- 
 dated Virginia and California before the great bonanza 
 was found. The ore body began to increase in size 
 and value as explorations continued west. This firm 
 received the following for mill gold and smelting ore 
 in 1874, the actual value being a little higher for the 
 former, and from thirty to fifty per cent, greater for 
 the latter. 
 
 2,225 oz. 12 dwt. 6 grs. mill gold ^4°> 2 93,93 
 
 Ore sold to smelting works 2,830.93 
 
 $43,124 86 
 
 The gold came from the Gold company's claim 
 until October I, 1874, when the levels entered the 
 ground further west, (and claimed by them,) known 
 as the Little Gunnell. All surplus receipts were ex- 
 pended in machinery and the development of the 
 mine. The yield for 1875 was as follows: 
 
 6,269 ° 7 - *3 dv/t. I2 8 rs > m '" S°'d $117,565.16 
 
 Smelting ore 10,164.40 
 
 $127,729.56 
 
 Of the product of 1875, the Gold Company's claim 
 gave one hundred and ninety-two cords of ore, yield- 
 ing $13,628.25. The remainder, $103,936.91, from
 
 COLORADO. 259 
 
 six hundred and ninety-four and one quarter cords of 
 ore, came from the claims further west, showing an 
 average return, including smelting ore, of eight 
 ounces and one dwt. of gold, or $149 per cord. The 
 yield of January, 1876, was $9,466.40 from the mill 
 gold and $2,996.88 from the smelting ore. Profits 
 began to be retained in March, 1876. For the eleven 
 months, ending February 1, 1876, the books show 
 the following: 
 
 Total yield of eleven months $ 128,198.04 
 
 Total Expenses 84,639.44 
 
 Profits $ 43,558.60 
 
 From this can be seen what skilled labor and prac- 
 tical miners can accomplish, for although the yield 
 was much smaller than in 1865-67, the profits form 
 about thirty-four per cent, of the receipts. These 
 would have been much larger but for the contest that 
 was going on with the owners of the Grand Army, 
 west of the Little Gunnell, and from the fact that the 
 ore is crushed in Black Hawk custom mills, a mile 
 and a half distant, at an expense of $32.00 per cord — 
 $7.00 of which is paid for hauling. Here was a total 
 outlay for hauling and milling, of $28,360, while if 
 these miners had owned a mill over the mine, as with 
 the Gregory, Buell, Kansas and Illinois, the outlay 
 would be but $16.00 per cord instead of $32.00, effect- 
 ing a saving of $14,180, bringing the net profits of 
 the mine up to fifty per cent, of the gross receipts. 
 But the present year has made a vastly better showing 
 than any previous one, as will be seen by the figures 
 given below.
 
 _M>0 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 The following is the yield of the same properties, 
 with the expenses and net profits attending the same, 
 for the four months ending May I, 1876. Seventy 
 miners and seventy mill stamps were employed : 
 
 1876 
 
 January . 
 February 
 March . . 
 April . . 
 
 Total 
 
 1; 1 , 1 Mi-. 
 
 12,463 78 
 
 I'', 7-1 
 
 25,695 OO 
 24,732 OO 
 
 I \II Nsl s 
 
 7,85 ; .•:-; 
 
 9,180 00 
 10,199 °° 
 10,121 OO 
 
 $ 79. 6 3° 28 $ 37,353 28 
 
 4,610 
 7.560 
 '5.49 6 
 14,611 
 
 $ 42,277 
 
 This statement shows a yield in March and April 
 of $50,427, and a net profit of $30,107, or about sixty 
 per cent., which would have been increased to Seventy- 
 five, if the ore had been milled immediately over the 
 mine. The yield is said to have been still better dur- 
 ing a portion of the summer. 
 
 About the middle of September the buildings and 
 hoisting works over the Gunnell Gold shaft were 
 destroyed by fire, which also damaged the shaft. This 
 closed operations and reduced the bullion product 
 of Gilpin county twenty thousand or thirty thou- 
 sand dollars monthly. The plucky leasers of the 
 mine did not give up after this disaster but purchased 
 the property for $50,000, cash in hand. This is but 
 a small part of what they had previously cleared on 
 their lease, but a large sum will be. required to get the 
 mine in working order again. A stone building fifty- 
 five by ninety feet is being put up which will contain 
 the necessary hoisting works and pumping machinery.
 
 COLORADO. 26l 
 
 Before that is completed the mine will be nearly filled 
 with water, and a heavy outlay will be required to 
 remove it. Good ore is reported in the bottom of the 
 deep shaft. 
 
 The Gunnell vein pitches to the south. The gold 
 is from .805 to .830 fine and is worth $18.10 to $18.30 
 per ounce with gold at twelve and a half cents pre- 
 mium. Last year the average value of the ore was 
 $18.61 per ton. This year it is still larger, being 
 unusually rich for a vein of this size and showing a 
 steady improvement. 
 
 The Grand Army part of the Gunnell is eight hun- 
 dred feet long and adjoins the Little Gunnell on the 
 west, and is of course west of the Gunnell Gold. 
 This is the property that was owned partly by Miller 
 and Newton, and partly by G. W. Gorsline, and was 
 covered by the Miller patent. It is now controlled by 
 J. C. Fagan. One of the shafts is four hundred and 
 seventy feet deep, and is being sunk at the rate of two 
 feet per day. The vein or ore body of this property, 
 at the present time, excels that of any other gold 
 mine in Colorado, when size and value are considered. 
 Its shaft and the levels running from the Gunnell Gold 
 claims show a vein from four to eleven feet wide, com- 
 posed of ore worth over $150 per cord, or $20 per 
 ton, and this extends from a depth of three hundred 
 feet below the surface down to the seven hundred foot 
 level and an unknown distance beneath. It reaches 
 west into the Fagan lode or west Grand Army, which 
 is undoubtedly the true Gunnell instead of what is
 
 262 COLORADO. 
 
 claimed as such further north. When the shaft reaches 
 the lower workings and is supplied with powerful 
 hoisting works and a mill, as it soon will be, there is 
 every probability of a yield of ,$500,000 annually, and 
 of a profit of seventy per cent, of that sum. It is 
 believed the ore body cannot be exhausted in four 
 years. 
 
 What is now often called the East Gunnell includes 
 that part of the lode east of the Gunnell Gold property 
 extending east to Main street, Central, a distance of 
 2,500 feet or more. This was once operated by various 
 companies, some of them named above, but is now 
 mainly owned or controlled by John Scuddcr, who is 
 working it by shafts located at intervals along the 
 vein. The University and Coleman shafts are down 
 three hundred and sixty and two hundred and fifty 
 feet respectively, while those on the eastern slope of 
 the hill have not yet attained that depth, but are being 
 deepened steadily. While none of this portion of the 
 lode is paying well at present, it is being systematic- 
 ally developed, and indications point to better things 
 below. 
 
 Immediately west of Pine street is a shaft worked 
 by Scudder & Company. This Gunnell vein extends 
 easterly under Pine, Main and Spring streets, and this 
 portion was relocated and discovered for a distance of 
 1,500 feet by the above parties under the name of the 
 Satisfaction. West of this Sayr & Atkins own on the 
 Gunnell, and it is currently reported have sold to 
 Scudder. By some the Satisfaction is thought to be
 
 COLORADO. 263 
 
 the east end of the Whiting. That part worked by Mr. 
 Scudder was once bought by the Central Company as 
 Gunnell. The developments of the next two years 
 will prove the identity of the two lodes, as the point 
 of intersection must be on this property. The main 
 objection at Washington, to issuing a patent for the 
 town site of Central, was furnished by Becker and 
 Scudder concerning this property, although Scudder 
 and Hense were the only actual owners. The patent 
 has recently been issued to the city, reserving such 
 rights as the mine holds under the rules and regula- 
 tions of the miners previously claimed. 
 
 It is thought by some that the St. Louis and Pleas- 
 ant View mines, both extensively worked, are offshoots 
 of the Gunnell. The north wall of the latter, for the 
 entire distance from the shaft now being sunk on the 
 Sayr & Atkins property, west to the pump shaft, 1,200 
 feet, is of such a nature that no lode can cross it. The 
 wall, wherever found, is very firm without a spur or 
 slip in it. On the north slope of the hill are also the 
 Sapphire, Mechanics, Jackson and other lodes now 
 being operated, that all lose themselves in the Gun- 
 nell. The owners of the Coleman bought the Jack- 
 son in 1865 or '6, fearing a lawsuit. Subsequent 
 developments have shown that the Jackson do?s not 
 cross the Gunnell, but is a feeder or spur thereof. 
 The total yield of the Gunnell has exceeded $2,500,000. 
 
 The Whiting lode lies south of and parallel with 
 the Gunnell and is operated at intervals to the depth 
 of from fifty to two hundred and fifty feet. James E.
 
 26/J COLORADO. 
 
 Lyon, James Miller, E. W. Henderson, and others, 
 have a government patent on 1,500 feet. The Whiting 
 discovery claim is four hundred feet south of the Gun- 
 nell Gold shaft and such is the difference in the pitch 
 of the lodes that this shaft will probably enter the 
 Whiting, at a depth of one thousand feet. The latter 
 is a vertical vein while the Gunnell pitches to the 
 south and to the Whiting. The lodes also form an 
 acute angle so that they will come together on the 
 surface some distance east of the Coleman, University, 
 and Gunnell Central claims. The Whiting being the 
 oldest title, will take in the larger or eastern portion 
 of the Gunnell, when further developed, as in the 
 Suderberg and Prize. A big lawsuit will probably 
 ensue but must result favorably to the Whiting 
 owners. The western extension of the Whiting for a 
 distance of 1,500 feet is owned by Fagan, Sullivan and 
 Miller, and is called the Wheeler.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE KANSAS LODE, 
 THE RODERICK DHU, GARDNER AND CALIFORNIA 
 
 Location and History of the Kansas — Its Reopening and 
 Remarkable yield — Rich pay and plenty of it— What 
 pluck and energy will do — Fagan's operations - Facts 
 and figures — The Borton and Roderick Dhu—One of 
 the Mother veins — Wonderful yield of the Gardner 
 and California — The reward of faith and hard work. 
 
 The Kansas is one of the longest, best denned and 
 richest lodes in Gilpin county. It has ranked among 
 the first of bullion producers nearly all of the time 
 for over six years, and the surface dirt and quartz 
 obtained in the early days was extremely rich. Pre- 
 vious to i870theve in had not been worked regularly, 
 and with the exception of two other properties to no 
 great depths. The vein has been developed more or 
 less for almost the entire length of Quartz hill, from 
 Nevada gulch on the northeastern side up along the 
 northern slope to the Forks lode near its western 
 extremity — a distance of one and three-eighths miles. 
 This lode is divided among many different properties 
 owned by various companies and individuals. Most 
 of them have yielded well, with here and there masses 
 of barren ground, such as are found in all mines. In 
 the yield of gold the Kansas is said to rank next after 
 the Gregory, Bobtail, and Gunnell, and good authori-
 
 266 COLORADO. 
 
 ties give the total yield from the time of discovery to 
 the present day, at nearly $2,000,000. There are from 
 twenty to thirty shafts on the lode, many of them 
 from two hundred to six hundred and fifty feet deep. 
 From 1870, to 1872, this lode was the centre of great 
 activity, as it is to-day; but mining is now carried on 
 in a much more systematic and permanent manner- 
 
 In 1804, several companies purchased portions of 
 the Kansas. Among the most valuable, were the 
 University, First National and the Kansas-Colorado. 
 The last named company paid $200,000 for three hun- 
 dred feet of the Kansas and three hundred and forty 
 feet of the Camp Grove lode, at the point of their 
 union. At this place the Kansas vein dips to the 
 south 186.56 feet in a depth of six hundred and thir- 
 teen feet in the main shaft, while the Burroughs which 
 comes in at an acute angle from the east and south, 
 dips only half as strongly in the same direction, or 
 less than 15 degrees in 90, uniting the veins four hun- 
 dred feet down. They unite on the surface five hun- 
 dred feet west at the dry gulch, while four hundred 
 feet east of the main shaft they are two hundred and 
 seven feet apart on the surfaee. They steadily diverge 
 from one another from their point of union eastward. 
 
 The Kansas-Colorado Company invested $100,000 
 in erecting a large mill and in placing the machinery 
 in the same, for the worthless Crosby and Thompson 
 process, instead of expending their working capital in 
 developing the mine. The property afterwards passed 
 into the hands of B. C. Waterman, who had been the
 
 COLORADO. 267 
 
 company's agent. In 1873, James C. Fagan, who had 
 some time before worked on this lode, leased the 
 property and began what was considered the very 
 doubtful venture of putting it in working order and of 
 sinking and exploring through the barren ground in 
 search of "pay." After removing vast quantities of 
 water from the long deserted chambers of the mine 
 and putting them in safe condition, the main shaft was 
 driven downward one hundred feet further, when ex- 
 ceedingly rich ore was found. Up to the time when 
 the mine began to pay, $23,000 had been expended by 
 the lessee. Mr. Fagan then bought the property and 
 leased 1,000 feet adjoining on the east, on the Kansas 
 and Burroughs lodes, known as the First National 
 property. This he has since developed to a depth of 
 six hundred and fifty feet with valuable ore in the low- 
 est workings. In 1874, the shaft on the three hundred 
 feet bought by Fagan of Waterman, was sunk to a 
 depth of six hundred and thirteen feet, and levels were 
 run east and west. The ore vein was from three to 
 four feet wide and extended through the lower two 
 hundred and fifty feet of the mine giving the very 
 profitable return of seven ounees per cord, or $18 per 
 ton beside a quantity of rich smelting ore. From 
 December, 1873, when pay was struck, to June, 1875, 
 (eighteen months,) this three hundred feet of ground 
 with its thirty-two stamp mill produced as follows: 
 
 The mill gold sold was 6.680.5 ounces, averaging $16.77 
 
 per ounce, worth in currency $112,032 03 
 
 Smelting ore sold 5t 2 ^5 44 
 
 Tribute work produced 3i&75 65 
 
 Earnings of mill, in addition 10 crushing ore from mine 6,593 62 
 
 Total $127,766 74
 
 568 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 The total expense was about $80,000, leaving over 
 ^47,000 profit. The average monthly yield was $6,200 
 and profit ^2,600. The Monmouth Company pur- 
 chased this property and took possession May I, 1876, 
 and the deep shaft is again being sunk. 
 
 In 1874, Fagan purchased the three hundred feet 
 adjoining the above on the west, then owned by Whit- 
 comb and Teller, and in 1875, organized the Mon- 
 mouth Company thereon. This has been worked by 
 four levels, driven west from the Waterman deep shaft 
 and began to pay in July, 1875. The following com- 
 plete statement for ten months ending May 1, 1876, is 
 given: 
 
 MONMOUTH THREE HUNDRED FEET OF KANSAS. 
 
 1875 
 
 Ml 'MH 
 
 July. ■ • 
 
 August . . 
 September 
 October . . 
 November 
 December 
 
 1876 
 January . . 
 February . 
 March . . 
 April . . . 
 
 GROSS 
 PRODUCT 
 
 $ 2,448 17 
 
 $ 1,649 77, 
 
 6,453 42 
 
 3,136 86! 
 
 7,372 99 
 
 3,515 85 
 
 5,110 30 
 
 3.010 30 
 
 7,972 85 
 
 4,036 70 
 
 11,230 92 
 
 6,770 89 
 
 8,921 85 
 
 4,6" 39 
 
 7,273 37 
 
 5,258 46 
 
 7,675 00 
 
 5,439 54 
 
 5,979 9i 
 
 3,225 11 
 
 >7'Vf ,8 -■■> 
 
 Nf, 1 ' ,4 h] 
 
 5 798 46 
 3.v6 56 
 
 3,857 14 
 2,100 00 
 3,936 15 
 5,460 03 
 
 4,310 46 
 2,014 9 1 
 2,235 46 
 2,754 80 
 
 g3°,783 97 
 
 About one ninth of the gross receipts were from 
 smelting ore. The cause of the falling off in the last 
 three months given, was the cutting down and re-tim- 
 bering and straightening of the main shaft and the 
 placing of a pump therein. Hoisting is usually sus-
 
 COLORADO. 269 
 
 pended entirely on such occasions, as well as mining, 
 but in this case there was no cessation, although con- 
 siderable interruption of operations. At the same 
 time the mill over the mine, whose capacity was 
 increased some time ago to thirty-two stamps, received 
 another addition of twenty stamps. This mill build- 
 ing is of great size, having been originally construc- 
 ted for a process. The entire cost of these improve- 
 ments was over $20,000. 
 
 The Monmouth Company now owns the above 
 mentioned mill, and six hundred feet of ground 
 together with three hundred and forty feet of the Camp 
 Grove lode. Mr Fagan is half owner in the compa- 
 ny's stock. The ore body in this mine is extremely 
 valuable being one of the richest, very large and con- 
 tinuous ore veins in the country. The five hundred 
 and six hundred foot levels have been driven west 
 clear through the Monmouth into the Littleton or 
 Fagan claim (lately purchased), and explorations indi- 
 cate an ore body west of the main shaft eight hun- 
 dred feet long, and extending from near the surface 
 (excepting a small space worked out), down six hun- 
 •dred and fifty feet, and an unknown distance further. 
 Although sinking is now resumed there is ore enough 
 in sight to supply the mill for several years. At some 
 points the crevice is from six to ten feet wide. 
 
 After leasing the Ophir-Burroughs last year, in 
 company with Sullivan and Wheeler, Mr. Fagan 
 bought of Littleton the Kansas Extension west, four 
 hundred and ninety feet, now called the Fagan Kansas,
 
 2JO COLORADO. 
 
 which crosses the dry gulch that comes down the 
 hill at this point. The Mount Desert, eight hundred 
 and thirty-one feet, and the Irish Flag, eight hundred 
 feet, were also purchased by him. The former has 
 one shaft three hundred feet deep, and branches out 
 from the Kansas near this gulch on the south side, as 
 does the Irish Flag from the north side, both having 
 however nearly a westerly direction. These are to be 
 worked extensively hereafter. 
 
 All of these Kansas properties with the English 
 Kansas, Ophirand First National Burroughs, including 
 over 5,500 feet, together with the Grand Army and 
 Fagan, Gunnell and Wheeler lodes of four thousand 
 feet, or altogether 9,500 feet of valuable veins, are 
 under one management, and superintended by D. Sul- 
 livan, who is also elsewhere interested in mining and 
 milling. The Kansas part of this property keeps 
 three mills and ninety six stamps employed, and with 
 the Ophir-Burroughs supplies over one hundred and 
 ten stamps in all. One hundred and fifty miners 
 and mill hands, find work, and the mines are being 
 brought into such shape and condition as to admit of 
 a yield of 100 tons of ore daily, and of nearly 
 $40,000 monthly. 
 
 Shafts and levels are being extended rapidly. The 
 Kansas pay vein is from three to four feet wide and 
 usually yields about one ounce or $16,50 per ton, but 
 occasionally as high as $30. The selected or smelting 
 ore is often very rich, and even the mill ore has given 
 yields from the lower workings of from $50 to $100 
 per ton.
 
 COLORADO. 271 
 
 East of the First National property, which has 
 lately begun to pay its lessee (Fagan) handsomely, 
 are a large number of properties, only a few of which 
 are now worked. 
 
 In eighteen months of 1871 and '72 George Easter- 
 brooks worked the University Company's two hundred 
 feet, and took therefrom $130,000. At other times 
 altogether $70,000 came from this property. The 
 shaft is five hundred and ninety feet deep. 
 
 A half mile further east are four hundred feet pur- 
 chased by an English company of the Hardesty 
 brothers. This was idle from i860 to 1 871, as the 
 owners did not feel inclined to risk money in opening 
 it to test its paying qualities. Gray, Root and Bennett 
 then leased it for one year, and after sinking a thirty 
 foot shaft forty feet further, struck an excellent body 
 of ore, which steadily continued to improve as depth 
 was gained. In seven months they took out $46,650, 
 one-tenth of which was paid to the owners, the Hardesty 
 brothers, as rental or royalty. It was then sold to an 
 English company, and the lessees were paid a large 
 sum to throw up their lease. The company took pos- 
 session and the mine continued to produce largely, 
 even up to the time it abandoned work. 
 
 Yet owing to incompetent and wasteful manage- 
 ment it proved a losing venture. In nineteen months 
 the company took out over $91,000, of which $28,000 
 was received for smelting ore — an unusually large 
 proportion of the whole amount, showing very high 
 grade ore. The total yield of the mine up to the fall
 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 of 1873 from all parties is said to have been #166,000. 
 Recently Medcalfe and Fagan bought this four hun- 
 dred feet of property., together with three hundred 
 feet adjoining on the west, two hundred feet on the 
 Water Mill lode in the gulch below, and the Hardesty 
 stamp mill close by it. Work has been resumed in 
 this par f of the Kansas with a very fine vein of ore in 
 the bottom, three hundred and sixty feet down. Fif- 
 teen men are already at work sinking and drifting, 
 and more will be soon. The Water Mill lode is yield- 
 ing very rich ore. 
 
 The above results on the Kansas show what a mod- 
 erate outlay of capital combined with skill and careful 
 management can effect on mines that had been aban- 
 doned because less capable managers could not operate 
 them successfully, or because they became discoura- 
 ged and left them as soon as barren ground was met 
 with. Below will be found a statement of receipts 
 and expenses on the united Monmouth-Kansas — six 
 hundred feet — for three months ending August I- 
 The mine has since done much better. 
 
 MAY. 
 
 From Tribute Workings 43'-9° 
 
 " Smelting ore 3 IO -^9 
 
 Mill ore 
 
 455 1-20 ozs. gold 7,600.00 
 
 Total yield 58,342.59 
 
 Expenses, and repairs on mine and mill 4,679.24 
 
 Net profit #3.663-35
 
 COLORADO. 273 
 
 JUNE. 
 
 From Tribute Workings 125.35 
 
 " Mill ore 
 
 310 3-20 ozs. gold 5,200.00 
 
 Total yield \ £5,325 35 
 
 Expenses, and repairs on mine and mill 5i33 1 -&3 
 
 Loss occasioned by building expenses and stoppage of work 
 
 JULY. 
 
 From Tribute Workings 99.76 
 
 " Smelting ore 913.54 
 
 " mill ore 
 
 445 ozs- g"ld 7,600.00 
 
 Total yield £8,613. 30 
 
 Expenses, and repairs on mine and mill 5,614.20 
 
 Net profit g 2 , 
 
 .999.10 
 
 The Borton, Roderick Dhu, Gardner and California 
 are all parts of the same great rich vein, over a mile in 
 length, which west of the California takes the names 
 Hidden Treasure and Indiana. Nearly all of the 
 three first named, embracing 3,000 feet of contiguous 
 ground, will probably be worked on a very large 
 scale under one management, within a few months. 
 The entire ledge, 5,500 feet, has produced altogether 
 nearly $1,700,000. 
 
 The Bortoh. James Clark owns four hundred feet 
 of this vein, and Prof. N. P. Hill five hundred. The 
 latter joins, and will probably take in the Roderick 
 Dhu, as it has the oldest record. 
 
 The Roderick Dhu comprises 1,000 feet, the eastern 
 half being owned by John Scudder and the western 
 half by Foster andjThompson of New York, two 
 wealthy capitalists who are heavily interested in the 
 Gunnell lode, the Consolidated Ditch and other prop- 
 18
 
 2}4 COLORADO. 
 
 ei lies. The five hundred feet owned by Scudder, has 
 been worked to a depth of five hundred and fifty feet 
 and has three thousand feet of levels. The crevice has 
 varied from two to seventy feet in width and the ore 
 yields from two to ten ounces per cord, or from $4.00 
 to 320.00 per ton — the smaller returns coming from 
 where the vein is the widest. From the beginning of 
 1870 to 1872, this mine yielded one thousand seven 
 hundred cords of ore and $110,000. It has been 
 worked on a small scale for several years, giving from 
 $10 to £20 per ton in the mills after smelting ore 
 has been selected. With water power and a mill over 
 the mine, or at the mouth of Quartz hill tunnel, which 
 will soon intersect it, this mine would pay enormously, 
 as ii has done at times without these advantages. 
 The total yield of the lode has been between $400,000 
 and $500,000. 
 
 The Gardner is between the Roderick Dhu and the 
 California and forms a part of the same great vein or 
 ore channel that extends along Quartz Hill between 
 the Illinois and the Burroughs and Kansas. It has 
 been owned and worked by various companies and 
 lessees since its discovery, in i860, and has produced 
 nearly or quite $600,000. The crevice is usually from 
 three to five feet wide, with ore yielding from $10 to 
 $15 in stamp mills, and from $50 to $200 at the 
 smelting works. The Clark-Gardner and Philadel- 
 phia and Colorado Companies' claims have been 
 mined to depths of from three hundred to four hun- 
 dred feet. Tn the latter the vein is large and regular,
 
 COLORADO. 275 
 
 and from three to twelve feet wide, with a good degree 
 of uniformity in the ore, which can be mined and 
 milled at an expense of five or six dollars per ton. 
 This mine cleared its lessees $14,000 in two or three 
 weeks, in 1871. The Gardner, beginning at the east- 
 ern end, is owned as stated below : 
 
 Philadelphia * Colorado G. M. Co., 300 feet 
 
 Clark-Gardner G. M. Co 200 feet 
 
 David Utley 100 feet 
 
 Hawley-Gardner 200 feet 
 
 Sid. B. Hawley 354 feet 
 
 Jones (formerly Waterman) 100 feet 
 
 Hawley's property has yielded at the rate of from 
 $25 to $225 per ton. 
 
 The California once went under the name of Gardner 
 for some distance, and is a part of the same vein west. 
 The rich ore found on Stalker and Standley's three 
 hundred and fifty feet to a depth of forty feet, induced 
 them to continue to sink the shaft. The result for a 
 year was most discouraging, They sunk all the 
 money they could raise and still kept at work. At 
 last at a depth of two hundred and twenty feet they 
 were about to give up in despair, when the vein began 
 to appear, and soon rich ore rewarded their labors. 
 
 From depths of from three hundred to five hundred 
 feet, from two to six feet of ore extended, containing 
 a rich seam of very high grade mineral. In less than 
 a year Stalker was able to pay Standley $75,000 for 
 his half interest, and $25,000 to other parties for three 
 hundred feet adjoining, and for spurs of the lode. 
 
 The ore treated in the stamp mills gave unusually
 
 276 COLORADO. 
 
 large returns, averaging twelve ounces to the cord, or 
 $2\ per ton — there being considerable silver. The 
 month of April, 1 870, returned $30,000, or the unusual 
 yield of $1,000 per day. In three and one half years 
 — from 1868 to 1 87 1, inclusive — the mine produced 
 $465,000. After this the ore body became exhausted. 
 Stalker continued sinking the shaft and opening the 
 mine until he had reached a depth of seven hundred 
 and forty feet and had become somewhat involved. 
 Standley then came into possession of the original 
 three hundred and fifty feet, which has been idle for 
 some time, but work may be resumed soon. 
 
 West of the Stalker claims is the Harper property, 
 four hundred feet, owned by Wm. M. Roworth. 
 Joseph Harper obtained altogether about $85,000, 
 therefrom. To the eastward considerable work has 
 been done with a yield of about $40,000. The entire 
 lode has given not less than $610,000, from first to 
 last.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE BURROUGHS AND ILLINOIS MINES. 
 
 One of fortune's favorites. Pat Casey and his night hands 
 — A veritable bonanza— History of the Ophir—More 
 golden deposits — A case of clear grit — The deepest 
 shaft in Colorado— Other properties— Discovery of 
 the Illinois— A rich vein — Fine mill and hoisting 
 works— A good record — What two men can do. 
 
 The Burroughs lode is about four hundred feet 
 north of and almost parallel with the Gardner and 
 California. The point of union with the Kansas is 
 2,509 feet from the vein's easternmost developments. 
 The Ophir shaft is 1,000 feet deep, and there are 
 eight shafts on different claims, varying from two 
 hundred to five hundred and thirty feet in depth. 
 Ben. Burroughs discovered this lode in May, 1859, 
 and afterwards the Kansas. It is worked in several 
 localities, the western half being operated by three 
 different firms. 
 
 The Ophir-Burroughs is the richest portion, and 
 embraces four hundred and sixty-two feet, owned by 
 the Ophir company. This has ranked with the most 
 productive mines in Colorado. Here the famous 
 Pat Casey made his "big raise" in 1862-3. He bought 
 several claims, one after another, of Benj. and A. D. 
 Burroughs, between February 19, 1861, and May 29, 
 1862, embracing two hundred and sixty-two feet, for
 
 2 ~ 8 COLORADO. 
 
 $7,750. He was to pay for them from the gold he 
 might obtain therefrom. He soon found paying ore. 
 Casey was an uneducated Irishman, but energetic, 
 lively and generous, as well as capable of managing 
 the big mine that so luckily fell in his way. When 
 the vein "capped on him," he never abandoned it, but 
 kept on sinking the shaft as long as he could get 
 credit from the merchants and his own miners. At 
 length he reached a bonanza that rivalled those of the 
 Gregory and Bobtail, and wealth rolled in on him in 
 a steady stream. Mclntyre was his financial man and 
 business manager, but it took "tin pincils a day" for 
 Casey to do his own figuring. A very large force of 
 miners was employed, and "Pat Casey's night hands" 
 are remembered to this day. They were mostly a 
 wild rollicking set, and a terror to their foes, or to all 
 who offended them. In a few short months Casey 
 was transformed from the ragged miner of the pick 
 and shovel to the capitalist sitting behind a team of 
 thoroughbreds, and instead cf "Pat" it was "Col. P. D. 
 Casey sur." 
 
 Numerous anecdotes are told about him, of which 
 the following are samples : He bought a span of 
 black horses valued at about $500. They pleased 
 him so well that when the assessor called for a list of 
 his personal property, Casey gave their value at $2,500, 
 and insisted on paying taxes on them at that rate. 
 
 About the time of his last purchase on the Ophir 
 he made a contract to sell all his property on that 
 lode to John Scudder, who was then acting for
 
 COLORADO. 279 
 
 Wm. H. Russell. The price agreed on was $40,000. 
 Turner & Hobbs, the bankers at Central and Denver, 
 were to pay him in their drafts on the State Bank of 
 Missouri for Scudder. When the payment was ten- 
 dered him, he changed his mind, and to avoid the sale 
 he demanded coin. He knew there was not that 
 amount of coin in the country ; and so the sale was 
 not effected. Soon after this the ore body gave out 
 and the mine was in "cap" and Casey got in debt to 
 every one who would trust him. Among his credi- 
 tors was the firm of Nuckolls & Hawk, to whom he 
 owed about $9,000 for supplies, which they had sold 
 him at a profit of from forty to seventy per cent. 
 Casey settled with them by giving his note drawing 
 ten per cent, interest per month — they to continue to 
 furnish supplies for the mine. This went on for some 
 time when one morning there was a big cave in the 
 mine caused by improper timbering, which exposed a 
 large body of ore on the south wall, showing he had 
 been sinking his shaft off from the crevice. Had the 
 mine been properly timbered the golden treasure which 
 that lode has poured forth might have remained un- 
 developed to this day. 
 
 Carey's property was sold in New York Oct. 13, 
 1863, by Hiram A. Johnson, Warren Hussey and Wm. 
 H. Russell. It was about the third sale made at the 
 east on Colorado properties. Casey received about 
 $60,000 as his share. After paying claims against the 
 property, he invested all his money in tobacco, just in 
 time to get the benefit of the first tax levied by the
 
 28o COLORADO. 
 
 government, and in one year made more money out 
 of his tobacco than he had made out of his mine. 
 
 Ben. Burroughs, the original discoverer of this lode, 
 who had sold out before its great value was known, is 
 now quite wealthy and is taking solid comfort on his 
 large and beautiful farm near Quincy, Ills. 
 
 The company was not very successful in operating 
 the Ophir. This was not because the mine was not 
 good enough, or for any lack of ore of the most de- 
 sirable kind, but on account of mismanagement and 
 incompetent direction. The yield was usually from 
 $18 to $30 per ton, with a pay vein two feet wide or 
 over — and yet the company eventually suspended 
 operations. During this time several hundred thou- 
 sands of dollars were added to the product of a quar- 
 ter of a million produced in the earlier years. In 
 1869-70 a force of miners worked out the balance of 
 pay due them, after which the mine was "shut down." 
 
 In March, 1873, Roberts & Co., Cornish miners, 
 who had been previously employed in the Ophir, and 
 knew the "lay of the ground," and where to look for 
 the ore, obtained a lease from the company's agent, 
 G. E. Randolph, and after many months, pumped out 
 the water that had filled the mine for several years. 
 They sunk the shaft and ran levels, and in twenty 
 months after the mine had been put in working order, 
 they had taken out $160,000, of which $100,000 was 
 profit. They went baek to Cornwall with $16,000 
 each in their pockets. This shows what miners who 
 understand their business can accomplish when they 
 obtain a good mine.
 
 COLORADO. 28l 
 
 When Roberts & Co's lease expired in March, 1875, 
 Sullivan, Fagan & Co. leased the property. The low- 
 est workings were then seven hundred and fourteen 
 •feet deep. The rich ore body that had been yielding 
 nearly $30 per ton was worked out, and it was found ■ 
 necessary to sink the shaft deeper to obtain another 
 body of ore. There was nothing of a very encourag- 
 ing nature for a distance of two hundred feet. The 
 outlays were large with but little income. Finally, 
 the vein began to improve and to yield as in previous 
 years. In April, 1876, a depth of 1,000 feet was 
 attained, the lowest point reached in Colorado mines. 
 This is the longest stretch of continuous sinking ever 
 accomplished among the deep mines, although similar 
 instances will be recorded before the year is out. 
 Some rich ore has been taken from the lower workings 
 of the Ophir. 
 
 The Burroughs vein has varied in width from ten 
 inches to three feet. Although not as large, it has 
 been richer than most others. The Ophir mine is 
 centrally located on the lode and its characteristics 
 fairly represent the entire vein. The walls are usually 
 well defined, smooth and regular, sometimes carrying 
 a thin gouge of clay, and again with the ore seam 
 resting directly upon them. Thirty dollars per ton 
 from the mills, and from one to two hundred from the 
 smelters are the ordinary receipts when the mine 
 "is in pay." At the seven hundred foot level the vein 
 divided, one part pitching north and the other south. 
 The deep shaft was driven on the south vein, but litile
 
 282 COLORADO. 
 
 ore has been found in it. A cross cut is being driven 
 northward from the nine hundred foot level to find 
 the north vein. 
 
 The Gilpin property, next east of the Ophir, is leased 
 by other parties, and is paying a profit. Its shaft 
 nearly five hundred feet deep is four hundred and fifty 
 feet east of the deep shaft. The split in the vein began 
 here at a depth of only three hundred and fifty feet. 
 
 West and north of the Monmouth-Kansas, Mackay 
 and Brewster have what they call the Burroughs 
 Extension. If this is the Burroughs vein, it crosses 
 the Kansas instead of losing itself therein as claimed 
 by some. This firm began work last summer, They 
 put up a shaft house, engine and hoisting works, and 
 have already sunk a shaft two hundred and fifty feet 
 deep into plenty of paying ore. 
 
 The owners of the Burroughs east of the Kansas 
 are: First National Company, one thousand and two 
 feet, leased and worked by Fagan; Ophir, four hun- 
 dred and sixty-two feet; H. M. & W. Teller, twenty 
 feet; Colorado, two hundred feet; and at the eastern 
 end W. H. Cushman's two hundred aud sixty-seven 
 feet. The Phoenix Company has absorbed the Bur- 
 roughs Gold Mining Company's one hundred and 
 fifty-five feet, the La Crosse fifty, and the Burroughs 
 one hundred. The Teller brothers own the old Con- 
 lee claim. 
 
 What is known as the Illinois mine, comprises the 
 Illinois and Confidence lodes — 1,000 feet on the for- 
 mer and i ,400 on the latter. These veins unite on
 
 COLORADO. 283 
 
 the western part of the property. John H. Gregory 
 was the discoverer (June, 1859,) while employed by 
 Illinois men. The location is on the eastern slope of 
 Quartz hill. The first owners worked together one 
 summer and then divided. In 1861, P. F. Tobin, 
 bought two hundred and fifty feet of the Illinois, inclu- 
 ding a ten stamp mill. In 1 861-2-3, the lode paid 
 well, the ore yielding from twenty to forty dollars and 
 over, per ton. George R. Mitchell organized a com- 
 pany on the Tobin property and three hundred and 
 ten feet and a stamp mill, bought of Buell for $30,000. 
 He then erected an immense building containing costly 
 hoisting works and a twenty-two stamp mill, at an 
 outlay of $100,000. In 1867-8 the mine was produc- 
 ing better than ever before — average yield, $15.80 per 
 ton. 
 
 In 1869, the mine, for a length of three hundred 
 feet had been worked down to depths of one hundred 
 and fifty and two hundred feet. This space had yielded 
 over $300,000. In the fall of that year, Buell, Jacobs, 
 and Woods, bought from the company, and have 
 since owned the entire mine. Buell operated it for a 
 year, and it has been worked at intervals since, and 
 continuously for the past two years. The Illinois and 
 Confidence lodes are uniform, from two to four feet 
 wide, with four to twelve inches of mineral. The fil- 
 ling of the vein is soft, requiring but little blasting, 
 and of course is worked cheaply. Average assay of 
 ore sold to the smelter in 1875-6, $150, price paid 
 $100; average mill return, $15 per ton ; total cost of
 
 -S.) COLORADO. 
 
 mining, milling and hoisting, $5.00 to #7.00 per ton. 
 In iS68, 1,500 tons milled $15.88 per ton and 40 tons 
 sold for $112 per ton. 
 
 The immense buildings over the mine and the two 
 shafts contain a twenty-two stamp mill, shops, store 
 rooms, and offices necessary for an establishment of 
 the largest kind, and a splendid set of hoisting works, 
 unrivalled save at the Buell and Bobtail, all of which 
 could not be replaced to-day for $50,000. Two wings 
 are attached to the central or main division building. 
 The whole is one hundred and seventy-five feet long, 
 by one hundred deep. There is one horizontal engine 
 — fifteen and one half by thirty-six inch cylinder — con- 
 nected with a large tubular boiler. The eastern shaft, 
 two hundred and thirty feet deep is furnished with a 
 Cornish self dumping skip, arranged for hoisting both 
 ore and water, with a capacity of twenty cubic feet 
 per load, and operated by a frictional winding drum. 
 Power is transmitted to this. by a line of shafting rest- 
 ing upon stone pillow blocks and connecting with the 
 stamp mill in the western part of the building. Tram- 
 ways run from the skip shaft to the mill. Near the 
 latter is the bucket shaft, one hundred and eighty-seven 
 feet deep. At a depth of one hundred and seventy 
 feet a level has been driven five hundred and fifty-five 
 feet east of this shaft, and thirty feet deeper another 
 level extends seventy-five feet east of the shaft and 
 three hundred and sixty west. 
 
 Occasionally the vein widens, showing ore bodies 
 ten feet thick. Recent sales and mill runs show a
 
 COLORADO. 285 
 
 steady increase in value. The entire mine, mill and 
 buildings with two mill sites, are owned by Bela 
 S. Buell, G. W. Jacobs and H. A. Woods who have a 
 government title. There are four hundred and ten 
 fathoms of unworked paying ground (ore) in the mine 
 above its first level. A recent report on the Illinois 
 says the average width of the vein is fifteen inches, 
 viz : five inches of solid ore at two tons to the fathom, 
 and ten inches of crevice matter at two tons to the 
 fathom. In addition, one ton per fathom is allowed 
 for branches running into the main vein. This would 
 give five tons per fathom and 2,050 tons of ore on this 
 level. On the second level, are about two hundred 
 and ninety fathoms, containing 1,450 tons. There is 
 no lack of ore at the bottom of the mine although the 
 vein is somewhat pinched near the skip shaft. 
 
 The Confidence is considered a strong branch of 
 the Illinois. The mine makes but little water. What 
 the mine now requires is to have one shaft sunk to a 
 depth of five hundred feet, with levels starting there- 
 from, sixty feet one below the other. It would cost 
 $30 per foot to sink the Murray shaft, or $10,000 to 
 reach a depth of five hundred feet, and $5.00 per foot 
 to run the levels, or $10,000 for five levels, each four 
 hundred feet long. Winzes etc., might cost $5,000 
 more. The mine would then be opened up with ore 
 enough in sight to insure a large fortune. One year 
 would be required for this developement, and the 
 reserves of ore ready to be worked would require 
 several years labor to exhaust. The value of the ore
 
 286 COLORADO. 
 
 now standing above the lower workings is, judging 
 from a large number of average sample assays, $30,000, 
 and the expense of mining and milling this will be 
 $15,000, leaving an equal amount for profit. 
 
 One locality in the mine near the skip shaft from 
 fifty to one hundred and fifty feet below the surface, 
 has been worked by two men, and portions of the 
 time by three. The following statement, although 
 making a better showing than most parts of the mine, 
 will give an idea of how profitable mining can be car- 
 ried on, even on a small scale. It includes the labor 
 of these men for twelve months and twenty days, end- 
 ing August 14, 1876, being the same as eight hun- 
 dred days work for one man. They raised three hun- 
 dred and forty six tons of ore that were crushed in 
 stamp mills, and sold fourteen tons and eight hundred 
 and eighty pounds of the richer mineral to the smelter. 
 
 RECEIPTS. 
 
 Three hundred and forty-six tons or forty-six and 
 one quarter cords of ore yielded 362 oz 17 dwts 
 of gold or 518 per ton $6,242 36 
 
 Fourteen tons and eight hundred and eighty pounds 
 smelting ore sold for from $70 to $135 or an aver- 
 age of $92.80 per ton 1,340 92 $7,583 28 
 
 EXPENSE. 
 
 Eight hundred days work at $2.50 per day $2,00000 
 
 Hauling and milling three hundred and forty six 
 
 tons of ore with smelting ore '.408 00 
 
 Powder, Fuse, Candles and Timbers 272 38 $3,680 38 
 
 Net Profit $3>9° 2 9° 
 
 Actual returns for their labor $5>9° 2 9° 
 
 More extensive operations have been inaugurated 
 recently on this mine.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 GUNNELL, QUARTZ AND OTHER HILLS. 
 
 Pleasant View— Suderberg, Jones and Hubert— The Kent 
 County, Alps, Ute, Pyrennes, Saint Louis and others — 
 The Forks, Flack, and American Flag— The Adeline, 
 Pierce, Etc. 
 
 The Pleasant View mine, near the eastern end of 
 Gunnell hill, after lying idle for seven years, is again 
 paying handsomely. It was discovered in 1864, and 
 in 1867 and '68 gold was sold to the value of $42,718 
 with $22,000 profit. In November, 1868, the mine 
 caved in and was then abandoned. In December, 1 875, 
 the Pleasant View Mining Company was organized, 
 with a capital of $200,000, in 20,000 shares, of $10 
 each — trustees and officers Colorado men — and the 
 mine was placed upon the Denver Mining Stock 
 Board. After paying for the property, $5,000 still 
 remained in the company's treasury as a working cap- 
 ital. A twelve-horse power engine and hoisting 
 apparatus were purchased and the mine was placed 
 in working order. It has since given a good profit. 
 Large quantities of ore have been raised worth $22 
 per ton, more or less. In May and June, at a depth 
 of two hundred and thirty feet and over, the vein, 
 composed almost entirely of pay rock giving an aver 
 age yield of from $11 to $14 per ton, had widened 
 out to twelve feet. Ore of this value, and in such
 
 \SS COLORADO. 
 
 quantities, ensures enormous profits. Ore has recently- 
 been sold to the Dressing Works for $50 and $60 
 per ton, and splendid returns have been obtained from 
 blanket tailings. This property consists of 1,200 feet 
 of continuous ground. The officers of the company 
 are, Wm, M. Roworth, President; A. J. Bean, Secre- 
 tary; Joseph A. Thatcher, Treasurer; and George W- 
 Briggs, Superintendent. In the first week of July, a 
 handsome and shapely brick of gold was shipped east, 
 weighing two hundred and eighteen ounces, and 
 worth $3,800, or $17.40 per ounce. This was the 
 return from Pleasant View ore crushed in stamp mills 
 during one month. Since then the yield has been 
 larger. 
 
 The St. Louis is owned by the Kilbourne brothers. 
 It is located near the Gunnell and Pleasant View, and 
 a short distance south of Eureka street. Steam hoist- 
 ing machinery has lately supplemented whim power. 
 Shaft is three hundred feet deep and the mine is well 
 opened by levels. The vein is very large, most of it being 
 eight feet wide. Seventy-six cords gave an average 
 yield of five ounces. Sufficient ore is raised to sup- 
 ply twenty-five stamps. Large quantities of ore have 
 been sold to the Dressing works. At the bottom of 
 the shaft there are nine feet of ore yielding nine 
 ounces of gold per cord, or $21 per ton. That return 
 has been made for several hundred cords. 
 
 The Winnebago lode, on Casto hill, has been worked 
 to a depth of four hundred feet. A fifteen-stamp mill 
 stands over the mine, but both are idle. This prop-
 
 COLORADO. 289 
 
 erty has changed hands several times and has not 
 usually been very profitable. 
 
 The Grant County extends from Chase gulch into 
 Castle Rock mountain, from a point opposite the 
 mouth of the Belden tunnel. Wm. M. Rule owns 
 1,600 feet on this lode which is of fair quality and six 
 feet wide. He is working it by means of a tunnel. 
 
 The Eureka lode is situated on the south slope of 
 Eureka hill between which and Gunnell hill comes 
 Prosser gulch. A dozen years ago the Sierra Madre 
 company put up buildings and expensive machinery, 
 but never accomplished much. Alexander Taylor 
 owns the central 1,400 feet of the lode. Several years 
 ago, after exhausting the surface "pocket," he mined the 
 property unsuccessfully and left it. After " getting 
 another start," he returned to the mine prepared to 
 expend it in searching for the ore body he was certain 
 existed there. A fortunate blast in the wall of an old 
 level disclosed the fact that he had left the crevice in 
 his previous working and that he had been sinking 
 the shaft through the granite and off the vein. The 
 ore had been left standing all this time above the 
 lower workings. It was very rich arid there was 
 plenty of it, and Mr. Taylor has been making money 
 ever since it was met with in the fall of 1875. The 
 crevice ranges from two to twelve feet wide, and the 
 mine is nearly three hundred feet deep, with no signs 
 of the ore body giving out. 
 
 The Arlington lode, in Eureka district, is worked 
 by Gray & Bond. The crevice is five feet wide with 
 
 19
 
 2l H I COLORADO. 
 
 two feet of copper, pyrites and galena. Four men 
 during the summer months obtained twenty-seven 
 cords of ore, with a yield of 51,846.46. Counting 
 the labor of the operators, the profits were forty per 
 cent, of the receipts. A quantity of wire and nugget 
 gold has recently been found. At a depth of one 
 hundred feet the vein is better than above. 
 
 The Prize extends over the upper and eastern part 
 of Gunnell hill, where it and the Suderberg come 
 together. The Prize and Commonwealth companies 
 have taken out large quantities of gold. The former, 
 under the management of John Scudder, was worked 
 to a depth of four hundred and fifty feet in 1870, and 
 began to pay enormously, when a contest and litiga- 
 tion ensued with the Suderberg. 
 
 The Suderberg is owned by Nat. Young & Co., or 
 their estate, and by E. L. Salisbury, for a distance of 
 1,900 feet, with the exception of a half interest in one 
 hundred and fifty feet, which is owned by R. Mackey. 
 In 1870-71 this mine paid immensely. A party of 
 Cornishmen worked the property for a while under 
 lease. Then Richard Mackey obtained it and Leyden 
 and Wightman bought into Mackey's lease and after- 
 wards sold to Young, who was also mining on the 
 lode. They reached an ore deposit of wonderful 
 value over five feet wide, and owing to the difference 
 in the "pitch" of the veins, opening straight down 
 into the Prize. Then the great contest began with 
 John Scudder, who was operating the latter. In 
 1870-71. nearly 5250,000 was obtained from the
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 29I 
 
 Suderberg workings. A very large sum came out 
 of the Prize, which the court decided was taken from 
 the Suderberg vein, and an injunction was obtained 
 on the former. Mackey afterwards worked these 
 claims, and his share of the profits is said to have 
 been $30,000. He paid Kimber & Co. alone $18,000 
 for crushing ore, and took out $75,000 while work- 
 ing the mine in 1872-3. The different shafts are 
 from four hundred and fifty to five hundred feet deep- 
 The eastern part of the lode is worked and the centre 
 will be as soon as the estate of Nat. Young & Co. 
 is settled. 
 
 The Jones is situated on a line, and nearly west o 
 the Suderberg. Its vein is often narrow but is remark- 
 able for giving some of the highest average returns 
 ever reported in the county. A Mr. Darby owns 
 three hundred feet, and Capt. J. F. Phillips and Mr. 
 McGonigle each own portions further west, all of 
 which have been worked to a depth of three hundred 
 feet. Sullivan & Andrews worked the eastern and 
 central part of the lode in 1869, when it paid largely, 
 and the following are the returns they gave for only 
 fifty feet of the Phillips property, for five months: 
 
 EXPENSES 
 
 August . . 
 September . 
 October . 
 
 Total . 
 
 $ 1,767 86 
 1,268 97 
 2,070 57 
 3,3i6 45 
 3,170 10 
 
 $ ,899 66 
 1,423 09 
 1,886 52 
 
 2,158 12 
 
 1,196 75 
 $ 7,564 14 
 
 $",591 95 
 
 184 25 
 
 ','58 33 
 i,973 35 
 
 $4,030 01
 
 292 COLORADO. 
 
 No accurate data are obtained from this or other 
 parts of the lode worked then or since, but the yield 
 and profits are said to have been equally good from all 
 of them during several years, the common return being 
 from $32 to $42 per ton. From these facts it will be 
 seen how profitable and valuable this lode would 
 become if worked under one management instead of 
 being divided into such small properties. The claim 
 known as the McGonigle, is equally rich. On the 
 Phillips claim $900 were cleared in sinking the shaft 
 thirty feet from the surface and in running a level fifty 
 feet — three and one-half cords of ore, yielding one 
 hundred and five ounces of gold, or $1,863. This 
 lode paid handsomely in 1874-5, when the ore was as 
 rich as ever. 
 
 The Hubert lode, owned by Balsinger & Co., has 
 one shaft three hundred feet deep, with from one to 
 four feet of ore, much of which carries from thirty to 
 sixty-five per cent, of lead. The vein also contains 
 in localities, considerable zinc blende. When treated 
 for gold in stamp mills the returns were not always 
 very satisfactory. Considerable ore was sold to the 
 smelting works, at Black Hawk and Golden. For 
 months after the Colorado Dressing and Smelting 
 company (Collom's) began operations at Black Hawk, 
 from seventy to ninety tons per week were sold there, 
 at from $9.00 to $16.70 per ton. An assay of Hubert 
 ore gave one ounce in gold, thirty-six ounces in silver 
 and two per cent, of copper. The value of the mine 
 is believed to be largely in its lead riches, but it pro- 
 duces large quantities of stamp mill ore,
 
 COLORADO. 293 
 
 In May, levels had been extended east and west 
 from the main shaft until the vein had become much 
 larger than at any former time, and the ore was of 
 greater average value. For a time five cords, or forty- 
 five tons of ore were mined and milled daily, of an 
 average value of four ounces or over $65 a cord. A 
 smaller yield still keeps up, and is liable to be main- 
 tained for a long time to come. Those portions of the 
 ore that are rich in lead are sold to the smelter at 
 Golden, and blanket tailings have brought at the 
 rate of $80 per ton. 
 
 The Ute is a lode on Quartz hill, near Nevada 
 gulch, from which it strikes southeasterly so as to 
 intersect the Kansas. It has been developed by the 
 owners, Andrews and Sullivan, since last November. 
 They own 1,435 feet, divided by another property. It 
 has been one of the most remunerative properties in 
 that vicinity, and has yielded over $40,000 in eleven 
 months, of which much more than half was profit. 
 One thousand tons of ore milled, gave an average of 
 thirteen ounces per cord, or $38 per ton. Besides 
 this smelting ore was sold. The vein has been from 
 one to six feet wide and is easily mined. The shaft 
 is over one hundred and fifty feet deep with engine 
 and hoisting works. Fifteen men are employed. 
 
 The Alger, thought to be the east extension of the 
 Kansas, is owned by Jacob Tascher. Peter Rue has 
 been obtaining much valuable ore from the vein, 
 which has varied from a few feet up to twenty in 
 width. Two or three veins, apparently, lie very close 
 to each other at that point.
 
 2< )4 COLORADO. 
 
 The Baxter and Crispin lode, in Spring gulch, 
 owned by E. K. Baxter, includes one thousand and 
 six hundred feet covered by a government title. 
 Although not worked at present, it is evidently a very 
 valuable piece of property. At one time assays of 
 from $80 to $280 per ton were often made and ore 
 was sold to the Keith works for $300 per cord. 
 
 Among other lodes on Quartz hill are the Sullivan, 
 Barnes, Camp Grove, and the Lewis, all valuable 
 properties. The last, owned by Henry Dobson & Co., 
 has yielded very rich ore. 
 
 The Lindon lode extends from Nevada gulch 
 through the southeastern part of the Gunnell hill. It 
 is owned by a newly formed company of which B. O. 
 Russell is agent. It is composed of several old 
 properties, which have been found to be on a single 
 vein. The ore is improving in appearance. 
 
 Well up on the northeastern slope of Quartz hill is 
 a cluster of lodes that together have yielded about 
 $300,000. These have directions varying from north- 
 east and southwest to southeast and northwest, several 
 of them crossing each other at nearly the same 
 locality. The names of these lodes are the Columbia, 
 Lewis, South Lewis, Adeline, Corydon, Pierce, 
 Lyman, Vanderbilt and Cork, embracing eight thou- 
 sand feet of veins. They have been opened by shafts 
 two hundred feet apart, that vary in depths from 
 thirty to two hundred and seventy-five feet. The 
 entire ground is covered by United States patents, 
 and every lode shows a well defined crevice from one
 
 COLORADO. 295 
 
 to eight feet wide, carrying ore that runs in stamp 
 mills from three ounces to fourteen ounces of gold 
 per cord. The Lewis has paid large profits for some 
 time and has a vein, from three to eight feet wide, of 
 ore that runs from $10 to $25 per ton. The design is 
 to develop the entire cluster of lodes by sinking one 
 main shaft at the junction of the Lewis and South 
 Lewis, and to cross-cut from this shaft and level into 
 the various veins; and this is now being done. 
 
 On the northeastern end of Quartz hill is the Mis- 
 souri, pretty well developed but now idle. 
 
 The American Flag lode has a southwesterly course 
 from Nevada gulch near the Clayton mill, and strikes 
 up over the west end of Quartz hill near the Forks. 
 The American Flag Gold Mining Company own five 
 hundred and thirty feet, on which are seven shafts of 
 various depths and the total yield of this property had 
 exceeded $200,000 prior to 1864. The Clayton por- 
 tion of the lode yielded a large amount of gold in 
 1872-3. Other parts of the vein have been worked 
 at intervals for the last ten years. 
 
 The Forks lode, near the west end of Quartz hill, 
 has figured quite extensively in the past. It has a 
 course north of east and intersects the Flack and Cal- 
 ifornia. It is a large wide vein from eight to ten feet 
 broad, and carries considerable lead. It produced 
 very heavily from i860 to 1863, and in some subse- 
 quent years, footing up a total of not far from $500,000. 
 Owners; Wheeler, one hundred and thirteen feet, 
 J. B. Chaffee five hundred feet, Success Company the
 
 2< |( ' COLORADO. 
 
 remainder. Has been worked to a depth of five hun- 
 dred and seventeen feet, but is now idle. 
 
 The Flack is another famous mine running above, 
 and parallel with the California and Indiana on the 
 northern slope of Quartz hill. The vein is usually 
 eighteen inches wide and often very rich. In six 
 months of 1863, it yielded $90,000. Nearly $500,000 
 has come from it altogether. Owned by Waterman. 
 
 The Kent County lode is situated on the upper part 
 of the northern slope of Quartz hill. It is above and 
 nearly parallel with the California and Kansas lodes. 
 The /Etna Company own the eastern nine hundred 
 feet, Tomlinson owns one hundred and ninety-six feet 
 and Richard Mackay the western one thousand two 
 hundred feet. Maddern & Company worked all but the 
 latter portion for a year. They sunk the three hun- 
 dred and forty foot shaft, one hundred feet deeper and 
 found plenty of ore. Eight i (i en raised from ten to 
 twenty tons of ore daily worth $15 per ton. Twenty 
 tons per month were sold to the smelter at from $113 
 to $125 per ton. They sunk the shaft at an outlay of 
 $10 per foot, run levels for $2.25 to $4.25 per foot, 
 and stoped at a still smaller cost. The mine has now 
 four thousand feet of levels and two shafts between 
 four hundred and five hundred feet deep. It has been 
 operated since i860. That year and the succeeding 
 one, gave a yield to the Cissler brothers of six hun- 
 dred cords of ore and $72,000. In four months of 
 1872, leasers obtained $32,000 from the /Etna alone. 
 The Madderns took out nearly $50,000 in 1875-6. In
 
 COLORADO. 29/ 
 
 September, Tomlinson's shaft house and hoisting works 
 were burned. Since then Mackay has leased that 
 claim in order to work his own property through the 
 deep shaft. He has put up a frame building thirty by 
 fifty-two, and a powerful set of hoisting machinery, 
 capable of raising ore and water one thousand feet. 
 The boiier and engine are first class. He has a large 
 force of men and will run levels west of the dry gulch 
 so as to open up his property in fine shape. 
 
 The Alps and Mackie are one lode. The former 
 takes the western seven hundred and fifteen feet of the 
 vein, and the latter, the eastern eight hundred feet. 
 Moody, Mackie and Whiting made the discovery in 
 1863 and in two months took out about $80,000, of 
 which $40,129 was profit. A single cord of ore gave 
 $1,675 and the amalgam was sometimes scooped up 
 from the tables in the stamp mill with a shovel. In 
 1864, the Alps and Grenada companies came into pos- 
 session of the property. They expended $59,000 in 
 building the " Blue Mill" near the head of Russell 
 gulch, and a large sum in the hoisting works over the 
 mine, which like everything put up under Mitchell's 
 supervision was first-class and extensive enough for all 
 operations required for many years. Before the mine 
 was brought into "pay" again the working capital was 
 exhausted — and here the mistake of making the stock 
 non-assessable was apparent. Owing to the refusal 
 of a part of the stockholders, no more money was 
 forthcoming for further development of the mine, and 
 the mill on which so much had been expended was
 
 298 COLO K a no. 
 
 of no service. The agent Geo. R. Mitchell, managed 
 however, to continue work until a fine ore body was 
 reached, and the yield was very large during the 
 remainder of the two or three years of this company's 
 administration. Subsequently other Chicago men 
 took hold of the property and for a while were quite 
 successful. In 1875, Geo. R. Mitchell, who then had 
 possession of the property, sold, and it is now owned 
 and operated by a New York company. The main 
 shaft is five hundred feet deep with levels at proper 
 intervals located where the Alps and Mackie unite. 
 About $500,000 has come out of this lode altogether. 
 In 1863-4 three hundred and sixty-five tons of ore 
 yielded $32,000. The mine is now leased by Robert 
 Brewster who employs a force of eighteen men. 
 
 The Pyrenees lode, owned by George Estabrooks 
 for a distance of one thousand nine hundred feet, is on 
 the summit of Quartz hill, nearly du~ west from the 
 Alps and Mackie. The vein is from one to three feet 
 wide and the shaft has already attained a depth of two 
 hundred feet. Six men are taking out about thirty 
 tons of smelting ore per month and one hundred and 
 twenty-five tons of mill ore. The assay value of the 
 former is $100 per ton or over, and the latter returns 
 seven to eight ounces per cord, or about $15 per ton. 
 This vein carries considerable lead, sometimes as high 
 as forty-five per cent. Ores have been sold to the 
 Colorado Dressing and Smelting Company, (Collom) 
 at very profitable figures. Some very large and hand- 
 some masses of ore were sent to the Centennial.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 RUSSELL AND LEAVENWORTH. 
 
 THE SILVER BELT. 
 
 TUNNELS. 
 
 Russell District contains a large number of veins, 
 and the gulch below them has yielded large quantities 
 of gold. On the north side of the gulch are the To- 
 peka and Hillhouse, both large and valuable lodes. 
 On the south side are the Pewabic and Saratoga, 
 which have been worked in places to depths of over 
 two hundred feet. The former is partly owned by H . M. 
 and W. Teller. The Saratoga is owned by companies 
 and by Hal Sayr. 
 
 The Mazeppa is a large regular vein, believed to be 
 the extension east of the Saratoga, and is located on a 
 ridge of land lying between Russell and Willis gulches. 
 It has been worked to the depth of one hundred and 
 ten feet, with some few levels. In a period of two 
 months over $6,000 was taken from the mine. Since 
 then it has not been worked for the reason that, at 
 that depth, capital, which the owners did not possess, 
 became a necessity for timbering and making a proper 
 shaft, the walls of the mine having caved in. As the 
 vein lies between two of the richest gulches of the 
 country there is no doubt that it has added largely 
 to their wealth. When properly developed will pay 
 largely. The owners will resume work when they 
 are prepared to do so on a large scale.
 
 300 COLORADO. 
 
 The Hillhouse lode crosses the hill between Russell 
 and Leavenworth gulches, and is the same vein as the 
 Perrin, its western extension. David Barnes took 
 Si 5,000 from the surface workings of this lode in one 
 summer. It was afterwards sold for $25,000. After 
 remaining idle for some time it was relocated in 1874 
 by Dr. R. G. Aduddel, who owns 1,033 ^ eet - 
 
 The Wood has yielded pitch blende in such quan- 
 tities that the ore sold for $1,50 per pound and assayed 
 sixty-seven per cent, of oxide of uranium. In Leav- 
 enworth are the Gold Ring, Wyandotte and Leaven- 
 worth lodes, owned by Killeen and the Hazard broth- 
 ers. The first has a two foot vein, producing nine 
 ounces of gold to the cord. The second is from two 
 to seven feet wide, and mills from three to nine 
 ounces, and the last yields ten ounces and .over per 
 cord. A number of shafts and drifts have been run. 
 The East Leavenworth lode just above Leavenworth 
 gulch, owned by the Martin brothers and Cheatly, has 
 been worked continuously for 1,200 feet. It has paid 
 good dividends for over three years. The "pay vein" 
 is from one to three feet wide; yielding from $15 to $25 
 per ton or from five to eight ounces of gold per cord. 
 This fine showing has been made on surface quartz 
 and without any systematic development or deep 
 workings. 
 
 On Gold Dirt hill, near the borders of Gilpin and 
 Boulder counties, is a cluster of lodes that were de- 
 veloped very extensively from ten to fifteen years ago. 
 Their yield at times was enormous, especially near
 
 COLORADO. 30I 
 
 the surface. Owing to the "capping" of some mines, 
 and company difficulties in others, they have been 
 worked but little for many years. Here are the once 
 famous Gold Dirt, Perigo and Maurer. Up to 1865 
 the first named was worked to the depth of five hun- 
 dred feet and produced $500,000. The others were 
 opened for two hundred Or three hundred feet. The 
 Rollins gold company had been operating the Gold 
 Dirt, New York, Racine, Boston, Maurer and other 
 mines. J. Q. A. Rollins now owns the property, 
 together with a fine large mill, and extensive meadow 
 and uplands at Rollinsville. Work has been resumed 
 on some of these mines. 
 
 The Chihuahua lode is located in Wide Awake 
 district, and is owned by W. H. Bush & Co., who have 
 been developing it for twenty months. A tunnel 
 nearly three hundred feet long has been driven in on 
 the vein, and recently a splendid body of ore has been 
 found. It is twenty-one feet wide, eight inches of 
 which is worth $55 per ton. The remainder contains 
 some rich pay streaks. Very high assays have been 
 obtained. The owners' heavy outlays and unbounded 
 faith are at last being rewarded. 
 
 The Silver Belt of Gilpin county contains some 
 very good veins. The most northerly lodes of this 
 belt are the Coaley and Gilpin, in Slaughter House 
 gulch. The former yielded $66,000 in 1869. The 
 ore was worth from a few hundred to several thou- 
 sands of dollars per ton. Assays of choice pieces 
 gave $28,000.
 
 302 COLORADO. 
 
 On Virginia mountain is an immense silver lode, 
 from five to fifteen feet wide, which extends for a dis- 
 tance of over two miles as far as developments have 
 proved. It is known in various parts as the Kokomo 
 or Searle, the Aduddel, Clifton, Owatonna and Rara 
 Avis. The last three comprise 1,400 feet each. The 
 lode has been opened by some deep shafts and sev- 
 eral tunnels. Its silver, lead and copper deposits are 
 very extensive. Wm. Ramage is working the Searle 
 and Clifton. 
 
 The Aduddel is opened by shafts one hundred feet 
 apart for a distance of [,800 feet, some of them being 
 from one hundred to two hundred feet deep. This is 
 again being worked and at one point displays a vein 
 from five to ten feet wide of ore that sells at from $20 
 to $90 per ton at smelting works. The vein carries at 
 this place a paying quantity of silver, considerable 
 gold, and from fifteen to fifty per cent, of lead. Good 
 ore has been obtained from various other parts of the 
 mine as well as from the entire lode, and there is no 
 doubt, if opened up properly and with capital, that it 
 would prove one of the best paying properties in the 
 mountains. The best ore has netted from $100 to $200. 
 
 The Clifton company formed under the limited lia- 
 bility act has its head office in London. It owns al- 
 together 6,000 feet of mines. The buildings and ma- 
 chinery are of the best description. There are two 
 tunnels, one four hundred and ten feet long and one 
 two hundred and fifty, besides several shafts. The 
 north wall is well defined, and the crevice is twenty
 
 COLORADO. 303 
 
 feet wide in places, as in the Aduddel; partly ore, with 
 some "gouge." The Searle has a shaft one hundred 
 and twenty-eight feet deep, three hundred and fifty 
 feet of levels and hoisting machinery. Ore sells at 
 from $10 to $175, and assaying some $50 additional. 
 The Aduddel, Searle and Clifton are all worked, and 
 comprise one of the largest veins in that section. 
 
 There are eight or nine tunnels in Gilpin county 
 that are worthy of note. These enterprises are val- 
 uable for draining and exploring purposes, and as a 
 means of avoiding hoisting and ore hauling expenses. 
 Owing to the gradual slope of most of the hills there 
 are not as many desirable tunne! sites in Gilpin county 
 as in some of the silver districts. Still several very 
 practicable schemes are being pushed steadily forward. 
 
 The Bobtail tunnel is 1,150 feet long, and is very 
 useful as an outlet to the mine from which it takes its 
 name. It cost $40,000. This has been noticed in the 
 chapter on the Bobtail lcde. 
 
 The Central City tunnel is located near the north- 
 eastern base of Quartz hill, having its starting point 
 from Nevada gulch, about 1,000 feet west of the Quartz 
 hill tunnel. The site was preempted long ago by B. O. 
 Russell, but the work of driving the present enter- 
 prise did not commence until June 10th, 1876. Just 
 before that time Mr. D. G. Wilson organized a com- 
 pany in New York upon a capital stock of $1,200,000, 
 and a working capital of $25,000. The object of the 
 enterprise is to penetrate Quartz hill, to cut the For- 
 tune lode (owned by the company,) and to explore
 
 J04 COLORADO. 
 
 the mountain for new discoveries or blind lodes ; 
 also to aid in the development of mines already found 
 on the surface. At a distance of seven hundred and 
 twenty feet the rich Fortune lode will be intersected 
 320 feet below the surface, and within the next 
 seven hundred feet, the Burroughs, Roderick Dhu 
 and Illinois, will be crossed at a depth of five hundred 
 feet. The direction is twenty-four degrees and fifty- 
 one minutes west of south, pointing towards Leav- 
 enworth gulch, 3,000 feet distant from the starting 
 point. The size of the tunnel is five and a-half feet 
 wide by six and a-half high. At its mouth is an ex- 
 cellent mill site and dumping ground. The first vein 
 was cut one hundred and thirty feet in, being a new 
 discovery of iron and copper pyrites, three feet in 
 width. One hundred and eighty feet from daylight 
 another large vein was crossed, and seventy feet be- 
 yond, the Kansas was intersected. The tunnel is a 
 fine piece of workmanship, being timbered in the most 
 substantial manner, and supplied with a railway over 
 which the rock and ore are transported in iron cars. 
 Here are two stone buildings used for storing ore and 
 for blacksmith and repair shops. The tunnel is now 
 over two hundred and fifty feet long, and has been 
 driven at the rate of fifty feet per month since getting 
 into the hard granite. Work is prosecuted night and 
 day under the immediate supervision of Mr. Wilson, 
 the agent of the company. The mountain will be 
 thoroughly explored and, it is confidently expected 
 that the new discoveries made, and to be made, will
 
 COLORADO. 305 
 
 net a handsome revenue and pay all expenses of 
 driving the tunnel. The location is extremely favor- 
 able, heading as it does directly for the main belt of 
 lodes on Quartz hiil. 
 
 Quartz Hill tunnel starts from Nevada gulch, op- 
 posite the upper part of Nevada street, Central. This 
 enterprise was inaugurated in 1865 by citizens of Cen- 
 tral, and has been prosecuted steadily until the eastern 
 part of Quartz hill has been penetrated for a distance 
 of nearly 1,000 feet at a cost of $35,000. The ex- 
 penses are defrayed from assessments on the share- 
 holders. In case the assessments are not paid the 
 stock of the delinquent party is sold after due notice 
 has been given. No one member can hold over 
 three shares, and none of the stock is for sale, the 
 holders having the utmost faith in the value of their 
 undertaking. A few of the original shareholders have 
 been sold out, have died or left the country, but many 
 remain and the work still goes on, often slowly, but 
 never abandoned. No veins of any value have been 
 found, and consequently there have been no receipts, 
 but instead one continuous outlay. Yet it is expected 
 that the great gold belt of Quartz hill will be tapped 
 at an early day, and but a few hundred feet ahead of 
 present workings. The eastern portions of the Bur- 
 roughs, Borton and Illinois cluster of lodes will be 
 cut nearly five hundred and fifty feet deep. The offi- 
 cers are H. Atvvater, president; F. Folster, vice pres- 
 ident; H.J. Kruse, secretary ; Henry Kruse, treasurer; 
 J. H. Lafranz, superintendent; trustees, E. Goldman, 
 G. Steinle, W. Hambly and L. C. Rockwell. w
 
 306 COLORADO. 
 
 The German Tunnel. The company operating this 
 was incorporated under the laws of Colorado in Jan- 
 uary, 1875, and consists entirely of Central City men. 
 The stock comprises thirty shares, which number can- 
 not be increased, nor can any one member own more 
 than three of these. The company was formed to ex- 
 plore Central City hill and develop whatever veins might 
 be discovered there. The tunnel site once belonged to 
 the Washington Tunnel company, and the hill was 
 penetrated sixty feet when the enterprise was aban- 
 doned. The present owners purchased it for a small 
 sum and then began work. 
 
 Two hundred and fifty feet of the tunnel were driven 
 for $8 per foot. The next contract was let for $12 
 pei foot, and the present for $15 per foot. When the 
 present contract of one hundred feet is completed the 
 tunnel will be five hundred and nine, feet long, con- 
 structed at an outlay of about $4,800. The rock is 
 run out over the iron railway and emptied into the 
 gulch below Turner Hall, affording a good dump, at 
 the same time that the lots located there are filled up 
 and made more valuable. The mouth of the tunnel 
 is on Gregory street, in the heart of the city, and op- 
 posite Turner Hall, affording a convenient point for 
 loading ore for the mills. Five lodes have already 
 been intersected. The only one known is the East 
 Boston, the others being newly discovered. In time 
 the Gregory No. 2, the Tierney, Maine, Girard and 
 Mammoth lodes will be cut, the latter five hundred 
 and sixty feet deep. No tunnel can be run cheaper,
 
 COLORADO. 307 
 
 as no company official is paid a dollar, and there are 
 no expenditures except for the work of driving the 
 tunnel, (which is let on contract) and for the track, &c. 
 The officers of the company are president, A. Car- 
 stens; vice president, George Stegner; secretary, 
 S. I. Lorah ; treasurer, P. Pflum; superintendent, N. H. 
 McCall. The stockholders include beside the above 
 H. J. Kruse, F. Kruse, J. Mack, Wm. Lehmkuhl, and 
 Messrs. Lewis and Richards. 
 
 The Bugle Tunnel is owned by Bela S. Buell, and 
 starts southward from Gregory street near Kruse's 
 store, and northward from a point in Virginia canon, 
 above Idaho. Little has been done upon it, but the 
 enterprise has an inviting field before it. It will pass 
 under Mammoth hill, Russell district and Virginia and 
 Seaton mountains, a distance of three miles and 1,060 
 feet. Twenty-seven prominent lodes will be cut at 
 various depths, and of course many blind lodes will 
 be found. 
 
 The La Crosse Tunnel, a half mile above the 
 Central City, occurs in the lower part of Nevada and 
 has been driven southerly into Quartz hill over nine 
 hundred feet. It will soon cut the Roderick Dhu 
 and other prominent veins. An immense mass of ore 
 seventy feet wide has been passed by this tunnel, but 
 it is of too low a grade to be handled until water is 
 brought into Nevada gulch in sufficient quantities to 
 be substituted for steam mill power. 
 
 The Belden and Tennel Tunnel was taken hold of 
 by a company organized in Denver by D. D. Belden.
 
 308 COLORADO. 
 
 It starts from a point in Chase gulch near the old 
 mill, and is designed to pierce Casto, or Winnebago 
 hill. Among the old lodes it will intersect are the 
 Winnebago and Casto, at a depth of three hundred 
 and fifty feet, and one thousand feet in. In driving the 
 tunnel three hundred and forty feet, three valuable 
 veins were discovered that had not been found on the 
 surface. The first of these was called the Ellery, 
 west of the tunnel, and the Furnald east of it. Fred. 
 Kruse is making money rapidly in leasing a part of 
 the latter. Drifts and shafts have been sunk, and 
 four feet of seven ounce ore found. The Ellery was 
 discovered in December, 1875, and began to be 
 worked extensively in February. From that time to 
 August 5th, ninety-six and one half cords of ore were 
 milled, yielding six hundred ounces of gold, or 
 $9,900. The yield has since been equally good, 
 sometimes giving two-thirds profit. Eight dollars 
 per foot was the first contract price of driving the 
 tunnel and $16 at the present time. The company 
 will soon have government patents on seven thousand 
 and eight hundred feet of lodes already discovered, 
 and after paying those and all other expenses, $3,000 
 remains in the treasury as the result of driving a 
 tunnel for eleven months and working the veins. 
 The Ellery is five feet wide. 
 
 Some fifty men are engaged in gulch mining in 
 Russell and its tributaries, and as many more on 
 North Clear Creek, below Black Hawk. Among the 
 valuable claims in the former locality are those of
 
 COLORADO. 309 
 
 Wm. Queen, embracing two thousand, one hundred 
 and eighty feet of placer ground, which have yielded 
 $8,000 in a single year. Joseph Welch and others 
 are obtaining considerable quantities of gold in North 
 Clear Creek. 
 
 Powder and high explosives for blasting purposes 
 are sold in Gilpin county alone to the amount of 
 $50,000 annually — that amount being required there 
 for the quantity of mining done. Laflin & Rand, the 
 California, the Hazard, and Giant powder companies 
 furnish the supply. One Central druggist has sold 
 quicksilver to the value of $150,000, within eight 
 years, and there are four dealing in the article in the 
 county. This was used in securing gold from the 
 ore crushed in stamp mills. 
 
 There are probably four thousand lodes, or spurs 
 and offshoots claimed as lodes, in Gilpin county. 
 Over thirteen thousand claims have been recorded. 
 The value of a hundred mines has been established. 
 There are hundreds more that may yet prove sources 
 of profit and perhaps of wealth to their owners. 
 Capital and a free use of muscle, powder and fuse 
 will tell the story. The hills about Central are 
 literally "honey-combed" with prospect holes, shafts 
 &c, that were excavated in searching for golden 
 veins. This shows that a great deal of digging is 
 often done before securing a prize. 
 
 The knowledge gained by years of experience and 
 labor among these mines is one cause of advancement 
 in the main industry of this section. Consolidation
 
 3IO COLORADO. 
 
 of properties and a reduction of expenses are other 
 causes. Hut while some mines arc operated as they 
 should be, there is great room for improvement in the 
 greater part of the mining that is done. In fact, it is 
 wretchedly conducted in man)' quarters. This is 
 often the case where properties are leased. All the 
 "pay in sight" is taken out, while no improvements 
 are made, the mine is left in an unsafe condition, and 
 a considerable outlay is required from the next ope- 
 rator to place it in shape for work. Still, more mines 
 are being operated for continuous work than at any 
 previous time. Ground is kept open ahead of what is 
 needed for the time being, and this is a most promis- 
 ing sign of the times.
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 CLEAR CREEK COUNTY. 
 
 Orographieal features — Mountains ribbed with Silver — 
 The Nation's Treasure Vaults— Bullion Statistics — 
 Annual Statements— The Silver Queen— A lively city 
 — Silver Plume, &c. 
 
 Clear Creek county includes the region drained by 
 South Clear creek, and embraces the best known and 
 most productive silver district of Colorado. It is 
 bounded by Gilpin county on the north, Jefferson on 
 the east, Park on the south, and Summit and Grand 
 on the west. South Clear creek and its branches 
 sweep down the canons in and below the Snowy 
 Range, forming long narrow valleys wherein the pop- 
 ulation mainly finds its abiding place. The steep and 
 rugged mountains that flank these valleys and ravines 
 are ribbed with veins of silver, often of immense value. 
 Here and there are newly-built villages, thriving 
 mining camps or solitary cabins, to indicate the pres- 
 ence of the miner or prospector. The entire section 
 up to elevations of 1 1,200 feet is more or less thickly 
 covered with pine and other forest species. 
 
 Two beautiful streams, fresh from the springs and 
 eternal snows of Gray's Peaks and Argentine Pass, 
 unite at Georgetown, and form the southern fork of 
 South Clear creek. Between them extends a spur of 
 the main range, known under the names of McClellan
 
 312 COLORADO. 
 
 and Leavenworth mountains. East of Georgetown 
 are Griffith and Anglo Saxon mountains. Another 
 spur of the great range lies between the valleys of 
 Silver Plume and Georgetown, and that of Empire; 
 To the west this is called Brown Mountain, then 
 Sherman, and further cast and north Republican and 
 Democrat. 
 
 These elevations and Kelso mountain embrace all 
 the prominent silver-bearing localities near George- 
 town. Of the lodes that have given them their noto 
 riety the Stevens, Belmont and International are con- 
 spicuous on McClellan mountain ; the Equator, Colo- 
 rado Central, Saco, Gates, Pulaski and Gilpin on Leav- 
 enworth ; the Anglo-Saxon and Griffith on the moun- 
 tains of the same name ; also the Magnet and Comet; 
 the Rogers, Polar Star, Queen of the West and Silver 
 Cloud on Democrat; the Dives, Pelican, Pay Rock, 
 Phoenix, Snow Drift, Silver Plume, and Hercules on 
 Sherman, and the Terrible, Silver Ore, Gunboat, 
 Brown, and Roe on Brown. These are only a few of 
 the multitude of veins with which this section is 
 intersected. 
 
 North of Empire is a gold belt that has produced 
 largely. East, and further down South Clear creek, 
 the silver belt continues with some interruptions to 
 Spanish Bar, from which exceedingly valuable mineral 
 deposits extend over into Gilpin county. To the 
 south, Chicago creek takes its rise among rich silver 
 mines. South Clear creek has yielded large quanti- 
 ties of gold from Spanish Bar down to a point several 
 miles below Idaho.
 
 COLORADO. 3 I 3 
 
 The veins of Georgetown district are rich in silver, 
 but few of them carry gold. The country or sur- 
 rounding rock is granite or gneiss. Many varieties of 
 structure and mineral composition occur in close prox- 
 imity to each other. The veins are commonly not 
 very wide, dip at a high angle, often vertically, and the 
 greater portion have an east and west course. A 
 smaller number strike north fifty-five degrees east. 
 The Equator is an example of this character. The 
 veins near Idabo carry a much higher percentage of 
 gold, especially near the surface. The Seaton, Whale 
 and others were once worked as gold veins, but as 
 depth was gained the percentage of silver increased. 
 The Hukill still carries a large proportion of gold. 
 
 Georgetown, the "Silver Queen," is located at the 
 upper end of South Clear Creek valley, fourteen miles 
 above Idaho, and fifty miles from Denver. Its loca- 
 tion is grand, picturesque and beautiful. It is sur- 
 rounded on all sides but one by lofty mountains, that 
 rise almost perpendicularly to the heighth of from two 
 to three thousand feet above the town. It is built 
 on the nearly level bottom of the valley, which 
 expands here to a width of nearly half a mile. Far 
 above like grim sentinels tower the grand old moun- 
 tains covered with pine and ribbed with silver. 
 
 The town site is about two miles in length, the 
 business portion of the place lying to the south and 
 under the shadow of Leavenworth mountain. Here 
 are located four large silver reducing mills and a num- 
 ber of dressing, sampling and ore-buying establish-
 
 314 color a no. 
 
 ments. Georgetown is well built and few western 
 towns can boast of a better class of private residences 
 or better patronized marts of trade. The streets pre- 
 sent a bustling animated appearance, that must be 
 seen to be appreciated. Especially is this the case on 
 Saturdays and Mondays, the great days of arrival and 
 departure to and from the hundreds of mines on the 
 far-away mountain sides. Ores that have been mined 
 during the week are then brought in more than at any 
 other time, and supplies are taken back on the return 
 trip. The transportation of freight, merchandise and 
 ore is carried on constantly to and from the larger 
 mines, and the stores and mills. The rtewer or more 
 inaccessible lodes, to which no roads have been con- 
 structed are reached by means of donkeys, or "pack 
 trains," as they are called. It is a novel sight to the 
 eastern traveler to see these patient and docile animals, 
 "loaded down to the guards" with timber, powder, steel, 
 merchandise and supplies of almost every conceivable 
 description, file through the streets bound for the 
 mines on the mountain tops. 
 
 Everything that can be expected of a first-class, 
 wide-awake town of twenty thousand people is afforded 
 here, except a railroad, and that is forthcoming. The 
 telegraph, newspaper, church, theatre and hotels of the 
 best description, are all here. There are banks, first- 
 class schools, a well organized fire department, and 
 hundreds of neat and attractive residences, all of which 
 attest the wealth, enterprise and prosperity of this go- 
 ahead town among the mountains, 8,452 feet above sea
 
 COLORADO. 3 I 5 
 
 level. The town has recently been illuminated with 
 gas, and many solid and substantial business houses 
 have been erected. There are five churches, several 
 large silver reducing mills and ore sampling works, 
 and a population of perhaps 5,000 as against 888 in 
 1870. 
 
 Two streams come dashing down the mountain 
 gorges into either side of the valley affording splendid 
 power for mills and reducing works. This permits 
 waterworks of the most efficient character, a natural 
 fall of one hundred and forty feet being obtained just 
 above the town. These works were completed at a 
 cost of $22,000, derived from fees on titles to city lots 
 issued when the government patent for the town site 
 was granted. A stately school building costing $22,000 
 is the most conspicuous object seen when entering 
 the city. Georgetown's population is made up from 
 all nationalities, but comprises wonderful enterprise 
 and energy, and much intelligence and refinement. 
 Rich and poor, cultivated and illiterate, all form parts 
 of this seething tide of humanity, all bent on achiev- 
 ing a fortune. 
 
 The Georgetown Miner published the following 
 business summary for 1865 : 
 
 There were 16,747,870 pounds of freight received 
 in 1875 over the Colorado Central Railway, and 
 10,008,000 pounds of ore sent away over the same 
 road. The expenditure for schools was $31,873.72, 
 of which $6,073.72 were paid for current expenses, 
 $23,500 for school buildings, and $2,500 for furniture.
 
 316 COLORADO. 
 
 Their were nine hundred and sixty persons of school 
 age, most of whom were enrolled as pupils. One 
 news depot in Georgetown sold newspapers and peri- 
 odicals to the number of 7 $,7 \2 copies. Money 
 orders were forwarded through the Georgetown office 
 of a total value of $110,194. The arrivals at the 
 hotels exceeded 16,000, and the Beebee House, at 
 Idaho Springs secured half as many more. The 
 amount of lumber turned out at the saw mills aggre- 
 gated 2,920,000 feet, and 1,500,000 of shingles were 
 manufactured. A first-class stage line affords con- 
 nection with Central and the Colorado Central Rail- 
 way terminus, at the lower end of the county. 
 
 Clear Creek county possesses a number of flourish- 
 ing villages. Idaho Springs is situated in a valley on 
 South Clear Creek, at the foot of Virginia canon, and 
 fourteen miles from Georgetown and six from Central. 
 It is on the only traveled route from Denver to the 
 "Silver Queen," and will soon have connection by rail, 
 wth the cities of the plains. The present terminus of 
 the Colorado Central Railway is at Floyd Hill, five 
 miles away. The hot and cold soda springs of this 
 place give it a world-wide celebrity, and the result is 
 a watering place and pleasure resort of the first order.' 
 Thousands visits the Springs every summer to par- 
 take of the health-giving mineral waters, or to escape 
 the heat and bustle of city life in lands farther 
 removed from heaven. The mines at and around 
 Idaho Springs do much to maintain a steady annual 
 trade for its merchants. The population is something 
 like five hundred.
 
 
 
 
 I^SSi 
 
 mmm 
 
 
 MM 
 
 
 * daw* <*, « 
 

 
 COLORADO. 317 
 
 A lively and flourishing place sprung into existence 
 in the lovely valley below Sherman mountain subse- 
 quent to the discovery of the rich silver veins. It was 
 given the very appropriate and pretty title of Silver 
 Plume, after one of the main lodes. The Pelican, Dives, 
 Baxter, Phcenix, Pay Rock, Silver Plume and Snow- 
 drift mines are in full view of this town, and skirt the 
 mountain side, one above the other, with their huge 
 embankments of waste rock and granite, like so many 
 forts or frowning battlements. The town contains 
 six hundred inhabitants, a church, school and the 
 usual post office, stores and saloons, as well as stages 
 and expresses to Georgetown. 
 
 One mile further up this canon, lined with moun- 
 tains three thousand feet high, is Brownsville, sup- 
 ported by the Brown and Terrible cluster of mines. 
 On the other side of Leavenworth mountain is the 
 new mining camp of Silver Ore. 
 
 As has already been stated, gold was discovered in 
 Clear Creek county in 1859 and silver in the fall of 
 1864. As there were no silver miners or mill men, 
 slow progress was made for over two years. The first 
 bullion obtained was in December, 1866. Its value 
 was $500, and constituted the year's silver production. 
 Below will be found the product of the mines of Clear 
 Creek county by years. All but that for 1875 are the 
 figures of either the Georgetown Miner or Review, or 
 of R. W. Raymond, United States Commissioner of 
 mines.
 
 ,l8 COLORADO. 
 
 II I 1 ION PRODUCT OF CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, (COIN.) 
 
 1859 tp '868, Gold product $2, 500,000 00 
 
 1866, Silver 500 00 
 
 1867, " 40,000 00 
 
 1868, Gold and Silver 91,820 35 
 
 1869, 
 
 1870, 
 
 1871, 
 
 1872,* 
 
 1873, 
 
 1874,+ 
 
 '875,: 
 
 ■ .(;-;,, » .. <■■■ 
 
 481,354 08 
 
 869,046 34 
 
 1,389,289 00 
 
 1,259,761 06 
 
 2,203,947 97 
 
 2,064,000 00 
 
 Total $11,157,718 
 
 ♦Raymond, $1,503,391 43- 
 
 tMiner, $2,368,781 95. 
 
 ^Mining Review, $1 ,988,099 55. The figures for 1875 represent currency. 
 
 The yield of Clear Creek county in 1871, was from 
 the following sources: 
 
 Stewart Silver Mill, $239, 528 60 
 
 Palmer & Nichols mill, 
 
 Brown mill, 
 
 International 'mill, 
 
 Baker mill, 
 
 Gold, lode and placer . . . . ■ 
 
 Total bullion . . 
 
 Ore shipped elsewhere, 
 
 Total, 
 
 100,002 
 
 49 
 
 25,845 
 
 00 
 
 26,125 
 
 70 
 
 4,509 
 
 45 
 
 20,000 
 
 00 
 
 $416,011 
 
 24 
 
 453, °3 5 
 
 10 
 
 $869,046 
 
 34 
 
 Raymond's report on this county for 1872, prepared 
 by Stoelting and Napheys gives the product for that 
 year as follows: 
 
 Bullion matte, $265,187 43 
 
 Ore shipped east, etc 831,556 00 
 
 Ore sold to N. P. Hill 406,648 00 
 
 Total $1 ,503,39' 4.3
 
 COLORADO. 319 
 
 CLEAR CREEK BULLION REPORT FOR 1873, 
 (Georgetown Miner.) 
 
 Stewart Smelting and Refining Company, Coin value . . $325,000 00 
 
 Masonville mill 20,263 46 ■ 
 
 Placer and retort gold, Idaho and Empire 34. 000 °° 
 
 Total $379,263 4^ 
 
 ORE SHIPPED OUTSIDE COLORADO. 
 
 TONS VALUE 
 
 G. W. Hall & Co 4 2 8 $225,251 44 
 
 Wm. Bement 13 6 45,°°° °° 
 
 Terrible Silver Mining Company 11° 70,00000 
 
 J. G. Pohle 85 47,°°° °° 
 
 Pelican, Baltimore Company \ r6o 54)5 oo 00 
 Eggers, Iselin, Jones, small shippers j 
 
 Total 9'9 $44i,75i 44 
 
 TREATED AT WORKS IN COLORADO. 
 
 TONS COIN VALUE 
 
 Bagley & Sons, Golden 231 $ 25,675 00 
 
 Swansea Smelting Company 43 8 63,971 l6 
 
 United States Gold Smelting and Mining Co.' 
 
 (Whale mill) estimated . . . ' 15°,°°° °° 
 
 Boston and Colorado Company, Black Hawk . . . 200,000 00 
 
 Total *43 8 ,74° 1° 
 
 Making a giand total of. . . ■ $1,259. 7 DI ° 6 
 
 The Swansea works treated #6,552.29. There were 
 2,000 tons of gold and silver ore treated. 
 
 Raymond's annual report gives the yield of Clear 
 Creek county in 1874, as follows: 
 
 Silver bullion $ 555,268 49 
 
 Ore treated in Colorado out of the county 520,968 60 
 
 Ore shipped out of Colorado 1,085,210 88 
 
 Placer and stamp mill gold 42,5°° °° 
 
 Total(coin value,) $2,203,947 97 
 
 Number of tons of ore mined 9,490, average value 
 #224 per ton ; of this, 3,275 tons, average value #186, 
 
 were treated in the county; 2024 tons, worth #230,
 
 .1 
 
 >0 tol.uKADo. 
 
 in other counties, and 4,191 tons worth #260 per ton 
 in eastern cities and in Europe. 
 
 Lead to the value of $48,239 was contained in the 
 ores shipped, being an average yield of 20 per cent 
 to the ores producing it. A full record of lead ore 
 was not kept. The ore reducing facilities of the 
 county were increased during the year, and the estab- 
 lishment of ore buying agencies for eastern and for- 
 eign works vastly improved the market and gave the 
 miners better prices. 
 
 Below is the substance of the Miner s report for 
 1874, giving $2,368,781.95, currency value. 
 
 SHIPMENT OF ORE BUYERS AND OTHERS. 
 
 TONS VAI.UH 
 
 '. W Hall A Co 7721/ $364,83200 
 
 Cree & McGinn r2l 291894 00 
 
 I 1 iiil.U' Company , r 176,840 00 
 
 Win. Bement 1,068 208,109 66 
 
 Boston and Colorado Company 33,184 17. 
 
 All others 318,500 00 
 
 BULLION AND GOLD DUST. 
 
 TONS VALUE 
 
 Pelican mill $ 76,000 00 
 
 Stewart Silver Reducing Company 2,647 436,181 43 
 
 Jnckl & Crosby works 427 55,95' 52 
 
 e , f Stiver 10,036 67 
 
 Swansea works . , . , o 
 
 I t xild '. . . . 932 80 
 
 Whale mill 445'I4 58,652 50 
 
 1 iold, lode mines 5,300 00 
 
 Gold, placer and bar 87,000 00 
 
 The production of the county in 1875 was as fol- 
 lows (currency value): 
 
 Silver bullion from the Stewart, Peril an and Judd & 
 
 Crosby mills $ 617,200 
 
 Silvi 1 ii 1 Hi- n .V Colorado Smelting works . . 438.000 
 
 iir' 1 I ! Iden Smelting h orks 29,958 
 
 On nt out of Colorado 951,744 
 
 Gold ore from Empire and elswhere ,...,.-, 
 
 Id to Boston .111,1 Colorado works 4,000 
 
 Smith Cleai ('reel: plac 1 gold 'l' 1 to Central Banks . . 23,961 
 
 Total $2,064,863
 
 COLORADO. 321 
 
 Here is a summary of the Miners annual statement 
 for 1875, coin value: 
 
 TONS VALUE 
 
 G. W. Hall & Co 1,037 $316,910 00 
 
 Wm. Church (B. & C.) 1,680 343,592 62 
 
 Wm. Bement 638.8 70,326 55 
 
 L. F. Olmsted (Golden) 272 5 29,958 00 ■ 
 
 Mellis & Morris 743.8 153,344 78 
 
 Total shipment 4372.1 #914,131 95 
 
 SILVER BULLION. 
 
 Stewart Silver Reducing Company, $280,667 49 
 
 Judd & Crosby works 236,531 94 
 
 No separate statement is given for the Pelican mill. 
 The gold product is given at $85,500.00; an over esti- 
 mate, based on the production of bar and creek gold. 
 The currency value of of the county's total yield for 
 1875 is given at $1,988,699.55. 
 
 During the six months ending July 1, 1876, the First 
 National Bank of Central, purchased 680 ounces 16 
 dwt and 6 grains of gold from the bar and creek dig- 
 gings of Clear Creek county. Reckoning its value at 
 $19.00 per ounce, $12,936. The other banks of Cent- 
 ral purchased in the same time and from the same 
 section, gold to the value of $1,000 making a yield of 
 $13,936 for the first half of the present year. Very 
 nearly all of the gold from this source is sold at those 
 banks. 
 
 The notes which will follow, concerning the mines 
 of Clear Creek, are not generally as extended as those 
 of Gilpin for several reasons. Their history and 
 record does not extend back as far, and does not 
 embrace so many years of production. Litigation 
 prevents complete statements of the yield from being 
 obtained in many cases. 21
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 HOW THE SILVER IS EXTRACTED FROM THE ORE 
 
 Concentration and. Reduction — Chlorodizing- Roasting and 
 Amalgamating — The Stewart Works— Leaching — The 
 Pelican Silver Mill — Juddand Crosby Works— Concen- 
 trating and Ore Dressing, Dry and Wet — The Clear 
 Creek Dressing and Reduction Works— Other Estab- 
 lishments. 
 
 The methods of treatment of ores for the extraction 
 of silver in Clear Creek county, are confined to chloro- 
 dizing-roasting and amalgamation, and to the Hunt- 
 Dougias and Stewart process. 
 
 The latter has been in operation at Georgetown in 
 the Stewart Reduction Works for a few months only, 
 or since the rebuilding of the mill destroyed by fire. 
 These works contain twenty stamps, reverbatory fur- 
 naces, eight Wheeler amalgamating pans, eight tanks 
 with stirrers, and a set of vats for the precipitation of 
 both silver and copper. The capacity of the works is 
 twenty-four tons of ore daily. J. Oscar Stewart is at 
 the head of the concern, and his mills operated in 
 former years by a different process, turned out nearly 
 $1,500,000 in silver bullion. Ores to be treated here, 
 must contain copper, and if it be absent, copper ore 
 must be added. The larger the percentage, the more 
 energetic will be the subsequent action of the solu- 
 tion on the silver. Ores carrying gold, silver and
 
 COLORADO. 323 
 
 copper can be treated by this process. The various 
 steps taken at this mill, as stated by the company, are 
 as follows : 
 
 I. The choice of suitable ore; 
 
 II. The grinding of the ore ; 
 
 III. The calcining or the chlorodizing of the ore ; 
 
 IV. The treatment of the oxydized or chlorodized ore with a solution of proto- 
 chlorid of iron and salt, in order to dissolve out the copper and most of the silver, — 
 and the precipitation, in the metallic state, of the copper and the silver thus dis- 
 solved ; 
 
 V. The lixiviation of the sands, thus deprived of their copper and of part of 
 their silver, with hyposulphite of lime to extract the remaining silver, and the 
 precipitation of the silver thus dissolved by sulphide of calcium; 
 
 VI. If gold be present, leaching the sands exhausted of copper and silver with 
 chlorinated brine, and the precipitation of the dissolved gold from this by sulphur- 
 etted hydrogen or sulphide of calcium. 
 
 A large portions of the ores mined in this county 
 are purchased and sent to Black Hawk, Golden and 
 elsewhere for milling. At the Boston and Colorado 
 Smelting Works, Black Hawk, gold ores are roasted 
 in heaps in the open air. Wood is laid in piles and 
 the ore heaped thereon something after the style of 
 burning brick. Fires are kindled and this ignites the 
 sulphur in the ore, which continues to burn for 
 one or two months, or until it is consumed. The ore 
 is then ready for smelting and for the remainder of 
 the process. The fumes from these piles, whose 
 smoke ascends continually to heaven as long as any 
 brimstone remains, are exceedingly strong and are car- 
 ried for a long distance. Silver ores, not containing 
 enough sulphur to maintain combustion without the 
 aid of other substances, are roasted in reverbatory 
 furnaces, and then smelted. The furnaces are tapped,
 
 ; \| coLOKAno. 
 
 letting out the molten lava on to a sand floor. This 
 contains several pits, and the part containing the pre- 
 cious metals being the heaviest, settles in these depres- 
 sions. This is called matte, while the worthless por- 
 tion, called slag, flows over the floor and is broken up 
 and carted away as refuse. The matte is crushed and 
 roasted in another furnace in order to expel what sul- 
 phur remains and to form sulphate of silver. It is 
 then put in vats where hot water dissolves this sul- 
 phate. After leaching, the solution runs into wooden 
 tanks lined with copper. The latter metal liberates 
 the silver from the solution. The silver thus precipi- 
 tated, is gathered at intervals, washed and pressed into 
 cakes, melted and run into bars etc. After the silver 
 has be^n precipitated, the solution passes into other 
 tanks containing scrap iron which, separates the copper 
 from the solution and the latter flows on to waste. 
 Gold, in gold bearing ores, is separated by a method 
 invented by Mr. Pearce. The ores of Gilpin county 
 carry a heavy percentage of copper. It will be noticed 
 that the gold ores treated at these works in 1875, 
 yielded $357,000 in gold, $94,000 in silver and $51,000 
 in copper. These works show the true proportions 
 of these metals rather than the stamp mills, as the 
 latter are unable to secure but a small percentage of 
 the silver and copper. 
 
 The Pelican mill is located at the west end of 
 Alpine street, Georgetown, and on the Argentine fork 
 of South Clear Creek. It contains ten stamps, five 
 Bruckner cylinders, eight amalgamating barrels, and
 
 COLORADO. 325 
 
 has a capacity for treating from eight to ten tons of 
 ore daily. The third class or poorer product of the 
 Pelican mine supplies the mill. The original building 
 has been enlarged until the entire concern covers a 
 large extent of ground. The stamps weigh six hun- 
 dred and fifty pounds each, and the frame work 
 enclosing them, is probably the most substantial in 
 Colorado. These stamps rise and fall ninety times 
 per minute and sometimes much faster. The bat- 
 teries are double issue, and dry crushing is the 
 method. The ore when brought to the mill is depos- 
 ited on an iron floor, heated from beneath, and tho- 
 roughly dried. It is then shoveled into the batteries and 
 crushed to a powder by the stamps. At the same 
 time this pulverized mineral is forced through the 
 screens of the batteries, falling below and on to a 
 double chain elevator, which, like those of flour mills, 
 conveys it to a revolving screen, through which it 
 passes into a large bin. Any particles not fine enough 
 to go through the screen are returned to the stamps for 
 more crushing. When required, this pulverized ore, 
 in " charges " of 3,500 pounds, is dropped into the 
 cylinders, which are then set in motion at the rate of 
 one revolution in two minutes. This is to keep the 
 charge moving so as to thoroughly expose all parts 
 to the heat, and later to mix the salt therewith. The 
 sulphur contained in ore must be expelled before the 
 precious metals can be thoroughly extracted. This is 
 done by an intense heat from the flames of the fur- 
 naces, which pass through the cylinders and escape
 
 326 COLORADO. 
 
 with the sulphur up the chimney. After four hours, 
 salt is introduced, equal in weight, to from six to 
 eight per cent of the ore, and the machine is again 
 set in motion. Pelican ores must be roasted in these 
 cylinders from fourteen to twenty hours, according to 
 the amount of lead and zinc they contain. Ores from 
 most other mines contain less of those minerals, and 
 require less time and expense. After roasting, the 
 ore is discharged in cars and conveyed to a cooling 
 floor, where it is screened. 
 
 The Bruckner cylinder is a horizontal cylinder, con- 
 structed of iron and lined within by fire brick, 
 designed to roast ores at much less cost than required 
 by the reverbatory furnace. It is usually eleven or 
 twelve feet long by five or six feet in diameter, and is 
 supported on rollers so as to revolve freely. One end 
 communicates with a brick fire place and the opposite 
 end opens into a stack, so that the flame is drawn 
 through the cylinder (which is partially filled with 
 ore) at the same time that the turning of the cylinder 
 keeps the ore in continual motion, and subjects all 
 portions of it to an equal heat. Within the cylinder 
 there is a partition running through the greater part of 
 its length. This is made of iron and covered with 
 fire-proof material. This insures, as the cylinder is 
 revolved, an intimate mixture of the whole mass of 
 ore. Between the end of the cylinder and the stack 
 is a dust chamber, in which the material that is carried 
 through with the draught may have an opportunity 
 of settling.
 
 COLORADO. 327 
 
 It is then placed in the amalgamating barrels in 
 charges of about 2,000 pounds, mixed with water 
 enough to form a moderately thick paste. Before 
 adding quicksilver, (one hundred and fifty to five hun- 
 dred pounds), the charge is revolved for four hours 
 with several hundred pounds of scrap iron, in order 
 to partially reduce the chlorides present, which would 
 otherwise be performed at the expense of the quick- 
 silver. The chloride of silver, after being partly 
 reduced, is amalgamated by the quicksilver. These 
 barrels are arranged to revolve much after the man- 
 ner of the cylinders, and are made of wooden staves, 
 often six inches thick, but when lined with blocks, 
 have but half that thickness. The ends are of thick 
 plank and the barrels are strongly bound with iron. 
 
 After the barrels have revolved for sixteen hours 
 longer, and the combination of quicksilver and silver 
 has been carried by its great weight to the bottom, it 
 is drawn off, while the sand or waste material is washed 
 into the creek, a further saving being at the same time 
 effected. The precious compound is then pressed in 
 canvass bags to extract as much quicksilver as pos- 
 sible. After washing, what remains in the bags (called 
 amalgam) is "retorted." This is done in an iron re- 
 tort by the application of great heat, which expels the 
 quicksilver (through a pipe whose lower end dips in 
 water) and condenses it so it can be used again. But 
 a very few pounds of quicksilver are lost in these op- 
 erations. The silver is then taken from the retort, 
 melted and run into bars or bricks of about 1,000
 
 328 COLORADO. 
 
 ounces, and 830 to 900 fine, and shipped to New York 
 for sale. The fineness or value is determined by 
 chipping off a corner from either side of the bar and 
 assaying the same. The result is stamped upon the 
 bars, together with the name of mill, &c, and the 
 address of the consignee. The monthly bullion pro- 
 duction of this mill is from $25,000 to $30,000. It 
 costs $18 or less per ton to mill Pelican ore of the 
 character handled here, which yields from $100 to 
 Si 25 per ton, and contains fourteen per cent, of zinc, 
 two and-a-half of copper, and eight of lead. Lighter 
 ores can be handled at $8 per ton in summer and $12 
 in winter. The differeuce in cost is caused by the 
 motive power used. In summer the mill runs by 
 water, and in winter by steam. Garrett, Martine & 
 Co. began milling here with one cylinder and after- 
 wards two. Huepeden followed and then came Palmer 
 and Nichols. Afterwards Geo. C. Munson and the 
 Pelican company leased the place and remodeled it. 
 Then the Pelican company bought it, doubled its size 
 and added three cylinders, several barrels and the 
 stamps. For over two years Benj. F. Napheys, who 
 is thoroughly acquainted with the process, and is a 
 most competent mill man, has been superintendent of 
 the establishment. Work has gone on without inter- 
 ruption for nearly two years, and under the present 
 administration half a million in silver bullion has been 
 obtained. 
 
 Concentration has been introduced in this silver 
 district during the past few years and has been of
 
 COLORADO. 329 
 
 incalculable benefit to the miner. While there is 
 always a considerable quantity of ore mined that is 
 very valuable and pays a large profit, the larger portion 
 of all silver veins is composed of ore of too poor a 
 quality to pay the expense of mining and milling. 
 By this system of dressing ores the waste or gangue 
 rock is separated from the richer material, and the 
 milling or salable matter is then so much reduced in 
 quantity as to admit of a charge of $35 or more per 
 ton. By this means the ore is reduced to from one- 
 third to one-eighth its former bulk, many mines have 
 been made to yield a profit that could not do so before, 
 and others to increase their production greatly. George 
 Teale did the first work of this kind by the wet pro- 
 cess on ore from the Terrible lode, of which he was 
 superintendent. Then the Teale and Eddy ore dress- 
 ing works were established at Silver Plume, and have 
 been in operation for over a year. They have been 
 handling from twenty to forty tons daily. For a time 
 the immense "dump piles" or waste rock from the 
 great Dives and other mines were sorted over and 
 handled here very satisfactorily. Rock that had been 
 thrown away as worthless was thus made available. 
 
 In 1870-71, and previous to the introduction of the 
 wet process, Wm. Bement had operated the Krom 
 Separator (dry concentration) at the Washington mill. 
 This was destroyed by fire. Both wet and dry pro- 
 cesses embrace very extensive combinations of ma- 
 chinery that do the work far more rapidly and effec- 
 tually than it can be done by "hand sorting" or man- 
 ual labor.
 
 33© COLORADO. 
 
 The Clear Creek Ore Dressing and Reducing Com- 
 pany was established in 1875. The location is in the 
 heart of Georgetown and just above the Pelican mill. 
 The Dressing and Concentrating portion of the con- 
 cern began operations last January. Dry concentra- 
 tion (Krom Separator) is the process used, with a 
 capacity of sixty tons daily. The average quantity of 
 ore handled is about thirty tons daily. During the 
 present year the Clear Creek company have supple- 
 mented their dressing works with silver reducing 
 works of nearly the same character as those of the 
 Pelican company. This splendid mill was completed 
 in September, 1876, and is on the same grounds as the 
 dressing works. 
 
 The mill has stamps, four Bruckner cylinders, and 
 a set of leaching tubs furnished with copper plates. 
 The latter, something like the Hunt-Douglas-Stewart 
 process of leaching with copper, supply the place of 
 pans or amalgamating barrels. Of the lighter classes 
 of ores this mill can handle twelve tons and over daily. 
 F. M. Taylor is superintendent of concentrating and 
 reducing works. 
 
 The following firms or agents are engaged in the 
 purchase and shipment of ore at Georgetown: 
 
 G. W. Hall & Co., for the East and Europe, Church 
 brothers, Wm. Bement, for Pennsylvania Lead Com- 
 pany, Silver Queen Works, L. F. Olmsted, for Golden, 
 Matthews & Co., and Cree& McCann. All these have 
 sampling works. The home reducing works of Stew- 
 art, Judd & Crosby and the Clear Creek Company
 
 COLORADO. 331 
 
 (Taylor) purchase their ore supplies from the miners. 
 The most valuable ores are sent to Europe for treat- 
 ment. 
 
 The Silver Queen Concentration Works were 
 recently established in Georgetown by W. W. Rose. 
 
 The Judd and Crosby silver mill of Georgetown is 
 located near the base of Burrell mountain, and beside 
 the Brownville fork of South Clear creek. This creek 
 furnishes an excellent water supply, which aids to 
 lessen expenses. The mill was altered and remodeled 
 at times and did not fairly get down to steady work 
 until late in September, 1874. During the remainder 
 of that year its bullion export was $55,591.52 ; in 1875, 
 $280,667,49, and in the first six months of 1876 it was 
 $121,095.72. The latter sum is obtained by reckoning 
 silver at $1.29 per ounce, coin value, when in reality 
 that was too high an estimate for the currency value 
 of silver. The product for the year will not probably 
 exceed $240,000. 
 
 This is a custom mill. Ores are brought here from 
 mines all over the neighboring mountains. The pro- 
 cess is chlorodizing-roasting in reverbatory furnaces 
 and amalgamating in pans — differing from the Pelican 
 mill in the instruments used to attain the same end. 
 
 When the ores are brought to the mill, they are 
 first broken in Dodge crushers and Cornish rollers, 
 then dried upon the drying floor sampled and assayed, 
 and when their value is determined, are purchased, 
 allowing for a charge of from thirty-five to forty-five 
 dollars per ton for treatment. Coming as they do
 
 332 COLORADO. 
 
 from st) many lodes, they vary in value from fifty dol- 
 lars up to hundreds, and rarely thousands of dollars 
 per ton. Dry crushing under the stamps, of which 
 there are fifteen, follows — batteries double issue, with 
 60 mesh screens ; 360 holes to the square inch. The 
 pulverized ore is conveyed by elevators so as to drop 
 into a hopper arranged with car and scales for weigh- 
 ing — then is dropped into another hopper and on into 
 the furnace in charges of 1,000 pounds. When it is 
 thoroughly desulphurized, salt (8 per cent, of weight 
 of ore) is added. The ore is moved by long iron shov- 
 els, in the hands of the furnace tenders, from one 
 hearth or department of the furnace to another and 
 kept all the time at a glowing heat — one hour in each 
 case being sufficient for chlorodizing. This improved 
 reverbatory furnace has seven hearths, but it is reported 
 that only five of them have been used of late. 
 
 After roasting, the desulphurized ore is cooled on a 
 floor and taken to four large pans, 2,500 pounds to 
 each, when water is supplied and the " mullers " are 
 set to revolving to grind the pulp to greater fineness. 
 In one or two hours the mullers are raised from the 
 bottom of the pans and from three hundred and fifty 
 to four hundred pounds of quicksilver are added. 
 After this, the grinding continues from eight to twelve 
 hours longer. The pulp is then thinned by water. 
 The specific gravity of the quicksilver and the silver 
 it has attracted causes it to seek the bottom of the 
 pans, from which it is drawn off through pipes or 
 cups, the pulp or dirt is discharged into settlers, and
 
 Colorado. 333 
 
 the amalgam still adhering to the pans is scraped and 
 removed, leaving the pans ready for another charge. 
 Thus the furnaces and pans are constantly kept 
 employed to their proper capacity, fresh charges 
 entering as others are taken away. This, and all Col- 
 orado reducing works or stamp mills, are constantly 
 kept at work night, day and Sunday, without inter- 
 mission unless for repairs. The amalgam is then 
 retorted, the silver separated, melted and run in bars, 
 as elsewhere. P. McCann has been superintendent 
 from January 1st, 1875, since when the management 
 of the establishment has been vastly improved.
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Mil' SILVER MINES OF BROWN MOUNTAIN, 
 
 The Terrible lode and the "Silver Ore"— Sulphurets— veins 
 of Silver A big sale— ,£100,000— HoMiilVs fight for a 
 
 fortune— "Rich strikes"— The Brown and U. S. Coin- 
 Big Silver buttons- -Consolidation and a strong team 
 — The Atlantic, Shively, etc. 
 
 The western extremity of the mineral belt of the 
 dividing ridge between Empire and Brownville valleys 
 is apparently on Brown mountain. Very prominent 
 among the lodes in this locality is a cluster discovered 
 in 1872. This includes the Atlantic, Shively, Pacific, 
 and some others, all of great value. They have all 
 yielded very considerable quantities of ore worth 
 from #100 to #1,500 per ton. 
 
 One mile east is Brown gulch, which partially di- 
 vides Brown from Sherman mountain. In this locality 
 are several clusters of lodes, nearly parallel in their 
 course, but situated several hundred feet one above 
 another on the rugged mountain side. First above 
 Brownville come the Brown, Coin, Mammoth and 
 others. Four hundred feet above are the Silver Ore, 
 Terrible, Gunboat and a number of productive veins. 
 Still further up are the Roe and its neighbors. 
 
 The Terrible mine became the property of Crow 
 and Clark in 1867 or 1868, and was discovered but a 
 short time previous. It is located in Brown gulch.
 
 COLORADO. 335 
 
 The vein, although narrow, was exceedingly valuable. 
 For years it was the richest continuous silver vein in 
 Colorado. In 1869, $85,000 (coin) had been obtained. 
 Seven hundred feet of it was sold to English capi- 
 talists early in 1870 for £100,000, and the Terrible 
 Lode Mining Company was organized. Up to Sep- 
 tember, 1870, the yield was $270,000, coin value. 
 The year 1872 gave the following yield : 
 
 First class . 
 Second class 
 Third class . 
 
 
 VALUE PER 
 
 VALUE 
 
 TONS 
 
 TON 
 
 (CURRENCY) 
 
 no 
 
 $500 
 
 $55,000 
 
 556 
 
 135 
 
 75,000 
 
 857 
 
 45 
 
 38,565 
 
 Total 1,523 $168,625 
 
 A wire tramway was built from the mouth of the 
 tunnel of the mine to the ore house at the base of the 
 mountain. Here a system of concentration, partly 
 the invention of the agent, Mr. George Teal, was 
 started in 1872. The following is his statement of the 
 yield of the mine for 1874: 
 
 First class . . 
 Second class 
 Third class . 
 Fourth class . 
 
 
 PRICE RECEIVED 
 
 VALUE 
 
 POUNDS 
 
 PER TON 
 
 (CURRENCY) 
 
 I93,5ZO 
 
 $55° 
 
 $53,218 
 
 768,570 
 
 I50 
 
 57,642 
 
 5,102,000 
 
 12 
 
 30,6l2 
 
 2,982,000 
 
 II 
 
 13,960 
 
 
 
 156,432 
 
 Costs, etc 
 
 The actual coin-value of this yield is about $203,000, of which amount $6,000 
 tepresents the value of the lead, the remainder being that of the silver. 
 
 The concentration works in connection with this mine went into operation about 
 July 1, and closed the season's work late in October, having proved an undoubted 
 success. The material treated was the third and fourth classes of the above table,
 
 5 j' 
 
 C< >i ' iRADO. 
 
 which had her tofore been thrown awaj as worthless <>i stacked on the dump or 
 along the course of the suspended tram-way leading from the mouth of the tunnel 
 to tin- guli h Ai the commencement of the year the stock of this ore on hand was 
 nated .it 1,500 tons, ol an average value of $ia per ton. Thisstock was increased 
 by the addition during the year of the 4,541 tons given in the above table, third 
 and fourth, making, in all, about 8,000 tons. During the season about 2,500 tons were 
 passed through the works, producing the following classes of marketable material : 
 
 
 CLASS 
 
 POUNDS 
 
 
 ASSAY 
 
 VALUE REC'd 
 
 V 
 B 
 
 C . 
 
 1) 
 !•' 
 
 
 • • 47,253 
 
 • • 94.MI 
 
 9,488 
 
 
 Ounces per ton 
 525 
 279 
 500 
 199 
 408 
 142 
 211 
 150 
 
 $ 7.448 25 
 
 2,602 50 
 
 • 2,466 00 
 
 15,614 50 
 
 2,625 50 
 
 K 
 
 1; 
 
 
 
 7,130 00 
 1,140 00 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 9,500 CO 
 
 
 885,058=442^ 
 
 2 tons 
 
 
 58,827 25 
 7,328 61 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 51,498 64 
 
 It will be seen that about six tons of crude material have been concentrated into 
 one ton of salable product, The composition of the eight classes is as follows : 
 A.— Impure galena, 60 per cent, lead 
 
 B. — Second class for Cornish jigs, 20 per cent, lead and 30 per cent. zinc. 
 C-— First class pickings, 45 per cent, lead, 10 per cent. zinc. 
 D. — Second class pickings, 10 per cent, lead and 40 per cent zinc. 
 E. — Iron and copper pyrites from the enriching jigs, carrying the brittle silver. 
 F. — Zinc-blende from enriching and automatic jigs, (nearly pure). 
 G. — Best work from slime-tables. 
 H. — Savings from picking-table, (to be recrushed and re-treated). 
 
 The Terrible Company has been doing nothing for 
 eighteen months. It has been enjoined by the courts 
 from working at that locality where the greater part 
 of the rich ore came from. Wm. A. Hamill, owner 
 of the Silver Ore, Gun Boat and Tycoon lodes, has 
 had a contest with those who owned the Terrible for 
 seven or eight years. He claimed a portion of the 
 Terrible, and also claimed it to be the same as some
 
 Colorado. 337 
 
 lodes of his own. In order to secure himself, he 
 bought all adjacent veins that he did not already 
 possess. He warned the Terrible Company against 
 purchasing, unless his claims were settled ; but as he 
 had no money then to prove up his property, no 
 attention was paid to him. Meantime, the silver con- 
 tinued to roll out from that famous vein. Hamill asser- 
 ted that his lodes took in the valuable part of what the 
 company was mining. Although securing more or 
 less development on his property, he was able to do 
 but little towards solving the problem until he became 
 manager of the great Dives mine, at the beginning of 
 1874. The company had the money and the ore 
 deposits, and its workings were far below any depth 
 he was able to reach. Furthermore, his veins did not 
 pay largely then. The lowest point attained on the 
 Terrible was between five and six hundred feet below 
 the surface of the mountain side. When the heavy 
 yields and large profits of 1874 were obtained, Hamill 
 offered to relinquish his claim for $125,000, but his 
 offer was not accepted. Having money at his com- 
 mand then, he immediately began to develop his prop- 
 erty in order to "prove up " the same. After sinking 
 and drifting for some time, the Gun Boat was eventually 
 found to be the Terrible, and the Silver Ore was 
 shown to possess the rich ore deposits that the Terri- 
 ble Company had been mining. These veins had the 
 oldest titles, having been discovered first; conse- 
 quently there was no difficulty in securing an injunc- 
 tion on the company to prevent further work by it in 
 22
 
 338 COLORADO. 
 
 that direction, llamill then asked $200,000 for the 
 two veins, and two successive agents of the company 
 recommended the purchase. Negotiations were bro- 
 ken off, however, and nothing was effected. This was 
 in the spring of 1876. Since then the Terrible Com- 
 pany has done nothing, while Hamill, and more 
 recently Hamill and Chaffee, have steadily been 
 working. It is said that the Silver Ore had produced, 
 up to October, 1876, $140,000, most of which was 
 taken out within two years. More than that sum may 
 confidently be expected per annum hereafter; and as 
 much more from the Brown, not to speak of this 
 firm's other valuable properties. 
 
 The ore of these veins consists chiefly of galena 
 and zinc blende, with some iron and copper pyrites. 
 With these are associated some rich silver minerals, 
 comprising stephanite, silver glance, fahlerz, some 
 native silver, and occasionally ruby silver. The gan- 
 gue mineral usually found is crystalized quartz, with 
 which are associated flour spar, heavy spar, etc. 
 
 The Brown lode once ranked with the Terrible in 
 its silver yield. It was sold to a company in the 
 earlier years of silver mining, and J. W. Watson was 
 agent. He erected large and expensive reduction 
 works. The mine was two hundred feet deep Sep- 
 tember 29, 1870, and had then produced $166,554. 
 Up to the time the works shut down in 1871, its yield 
 was $380,000. The mill was afterwards destroyed by 
 fire- 
 
 The U. S. Coin, near the Brown, was owned by the
 
 Colorado. 339 
 
 same company, and was very profitable. In time, 
 both of the mines became the property of Jerome B. 
 Chaffee. Work continued, but the ore bodies were 
 small and less silver was exported. When Watson 
 had charge, the bullion was shipped away in large 
 buttons, one of which was worth $11,000. 
 
 In the summer of 1876, Jerome B. Chaffee and Wm. 
 A. Hamill consolidated their properties in this neigh- 
 borhood. These included the Brown, U. S. Coin, 
 Silver Ore, Gunboat, Old Missouri, Glasgow, and 
 Mammoth — all paying properties, and many others 
 such as the Tycoon and Last Chance, in all some 43,000 
 feet of veins. Two tunnels, the Union and Silver Ore 
 also came into the consolidation. Steam drills and 
 eighty men are now employed, principally on the 
 Brown and Silver Ore, and operations of a very exten- 
 sive character are about to be inaugurated. Ore from 
 these lodes yields from $200 to $600 per ton. The 
 tunnels are being driven forward with all possible 
 vigor. The Union is one hundred and eighty feet 
 long, and when a distance of five hundred feet is 
 attained, will cut the vein four hundred and forty feet 
 below the surface. The Silver Ore is already inter- 
 sected by the tunnel of the same name, and this will 
 eventually cut the Brown, three hundred feet beyond. 
 A thirty horse power engine has been put up at the 
 Silver Ore shaft, and a Knowles steam pump intro- 
 duced to keep the mine cleared of water. Thirty 
 men are at work here. 
 
 The East Terrible is owned by the Clark Mining
 
 340 COLORADO. 
 
 Company. From eight to twenty men employed for 
 over a year — Mine over three hundred feet deep — 
 first class ore worth $500, second class $150. Average 
 yield twenty-five tons per month. Teale, Foster & 
 Co. are the agents and sub-lease the mine. This em- 
 braces five hundred feet of the Terrible lode. The 
 English company have eight hundred feet west and 
 three hundred east of it. 
 
 The Atlantic is owned by Newman & Co. and leased 
 by Ebert & Co. One lot of five tons of ore sold for 
 $2,890. First class ore contains from $500 to $1,000. 
 Pay vein, one to four inches. Shaft over 300 feet 
 deep.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 SILVER MINES OF SHERMAN MOUNTAIN. 
 
 TJie Pelican and Dives — Kings among Silver Mines — His- 
 tory of these famous properties — A strike that had 
 "millions in iV — A monster lode and a mint of money — 
 #3,000,000 in Silver— $65,000 in a single week. The 
 Phoznix- Coldstream, Silver Plume, Baxter, Snowdrift 
 and Payrock The richest cluster in the coronet. 
 
 The Pelican and Dives, the most famous of Col- 
 rado silver mines, are situated on Sherman mountain, 
 about seven hundred feet above its base. They are in 
 full view of Silver Plume, which dates its birth from 
 the opening of these great ore deposits. Like most 
 lodes of this chain of mountains the direction is nearly 
 parallel with the creek and valley below. The lead- 
 ing ore veins of the Dives and Pelican have never 
 entirely given out. What is called the vein has varied 
 in width from six inches to four feet, with an average 
 of over two feet, but often widening to seven, twelve 
 and even more. Seventeen feet of ore was claimed 
 at one place. Of course much of the matter was 
 "gangue" or waste rock, when this width was main- 
 tained. The truth is, this is one giant vein of unknown 
 extent. A tunnel or cross cut has been driven across 
 the lode for two hundred feet, and yet no north wall 
 has been found ! It is the grandest ore channel yet 
 developed. Of the above width, of course only a
 
 34 2 COLORADO. 
 
 small portion is composed of ore. There arc numer- 
 ous spurs, seams, veins and feeders, something like the 
 branches of a tree, (but usually maintaining a more 
 parallel course,) which are found in all parts of this 
 immense crevice. Most of these ore seams are nar- 
 row, the main one being described above. At several 
 localities there has been from five to seven feet of 
 solid ore, yielding from $100 to $500 per ton, but 
 more frequently "gangue" is mixed with mineral, re- 
 quiring sorting and often concentration. The ores like 
 very many near Georgetown, carry argentiferous 
 galena, zinc blende, gray copper, silver glance, and 
 sometimes native silver. So far the Pelican and Dives 
 have proved the kings among Colorado silver veins, 
 and have completely distanced all others in produc- 
 tion. Owing to litigation it has been impossible to 
 obtain statements of their total yield, but it can hardly 
 fall short of $3,000,000, and some estimate it as high 
 as $4,000,000. This has been obtained in spite of 
 continuous litigation, of injunctions on portions of the 
 property, and of a contest and struggle for possessicn 
 that leaves all other mining suits, east or west, com- 
 pletely in the back ground. Had there been no hind- 
 rance to development and production, the yield of the 
 past four years would probably have aggregated six 
 millions. The combination of great size and extra- 
 ordinary richness, which all hope to get, is here rep- 
 resented. Although there are vast quantities of vein 
 matter that are of little or no value, there is enough 
 that yields handsomely to return a product that no
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 343 
 
 other mine has yet produced for the amount of ground 
 opened. 
 
 The Dives was discovered in 1868. At a later date 
 John H. McMurdy of Georgetown, and the Perdue 
 Silver Mining Company of Lafayette, Indiana, came 
 into possession of it. The latter owns the western 
 five hundred feet adjoining the Pelican; and the part 
 now held by Senator John A. Logan, and others, 
 and the estate of John H. McMurdy, comprises 1,000 
 feet. In 1 871-2-3 John H. McMurdy and E. Hollings- 
 worth, stockholders of the company, managed the 
 Perdue property. 
 
 During these years litigation had commenced with 
 Streeter and McCunniff of the Pelican mine, who 
 claimed a portion of the Dives as a part of the Pelican 
 and Zillah lodes. The latter had been bought of S. C. 
 Bennett and A. Medley, and had yielded enormously. 
 As the suit went on the most able legal talent in the 
 territory had been secured, and the lawyers' fees 
 amounted to thousands monthly. Up to November, 
 1 87 1, the Pelican mine yielded as follows : 
 
 OZ. PKR TON 
 
 Ore treated at Georgetown 
 " at Silver Plume mill . . 
 
 mine 
 
 sent to Swansea . . 
 sold F. J. Marshall 
 " N. P. Hill . . . 
 
 240 
 510 
 250 
 
 Total 
 Cost equal to . 
 
 389 
 
 32,280 
 15,300 
 50,000 
 i4,77o 
 2,288 
 294 
 
 Coin value with silver at $1.29 
 
 103,932 
 10,000 
 
 93-93 2 
 $121,172.28
 
 ^44 COLORADO. 
 
 There are five miles of tunnels, levels, &c., on the 
 Pelican and Dives lodes. Sinking is progressing 
 steadily on both. The Main shaft of the former is 
 five hundred and thirty feet deep, and the lowest level 
 is four hundred and ten feet deep. For a distance of 
 1,300 feet the average width of the vein is from 
 twenty-faur to thirty inches, but in some locations 
 there has been twelve feet of solid ore. The yield is 
 from five hundred ounces down to a figure where 
 concentration is necessary. The ore is assorted into 
 four grades. The two most valuable classes are sold 
 to Eastern or European works, some of it going to 
 Wales and some to Germany. The third class, which 
 averages not far from $100 per ton, is treated at the 
 company's mill in Georgetown. The poorer qualities 
 are dressed or concentrated and then sent to the mill. 
 The mill derives its supply of eight or ten tons per 
 diem from the two grades last mentioned. 
 
 The Pelican lode was opened in the spring of 1871, 
 by John McCunniff and E. S. Streeter. They were 
 both experienced miners and prospectors, but " luck 
 had gone against them " for some time previous to 
 this discovery. This mine began to pay from the 
 surface, and has never ceased doing so. For two 
 years to date, the low grade ores have given a yield 
 that cannot fall much short of $500,000, and may 
 exceed that figure. There are two grades still more 
 valuable that are sent to Europe for treatment, and 
 yield from $200 to $500 and over per ton. The mill, 
 capable of treating eight or ten tons daily, is kept
 
 Colorado. 345 
 
 busy on the poorer qualities and the concentrations 
 that are returned from the dressing works. The vein 
 is claimed for 3,000 feet by the present owners. In 
 1873, E. Y. Naylor and Jacob Snider each purchased 
 one-third of the Pelican, the former owners retaining 
 the other third. The mine has been worked by 
 shafts and four tunnels, one above another. 
 
 Streeter and McCunniff found this lode in the fall 
 of 1868,. and from the fancied resemblance of the 
 crevice *in their " prospect hole" to a Pelican's bill, 
 Streeter gave it the name it bears. It was not thought 
 worth the payment for recording for two years. In 
 1 87 1, Thomas and M. McCunniff thought they would 
 do a little more work on it. The result was the open- 
 ing of the great vein that an eminent mining expert 
 once said, " is incomparably richer than the Corn- 
 stock." 
 
 The Perdue Company's portion of the Dives has 
 produced far more silver than the eastern division, but 
 latterly both have been yielding splendid mineral- 
 Sandels, and Bishop work the former under lease or 
 per centage. Its " output " can be estimated from the 
 fact that these men lost #1,500 in a single month by 
 the fall of silver on the ore mined and sold. A tun- 
 nel cuts the vein at a depth of two hundred and 
 thirteen feet. Large chambers have been cut in the 
 solid granite at this point, and a seventy horse power 
 engine and boiler were placed therein last spring. 
 Below that point are three levels from two to three 
 hundred feet long. There are nearly or quite seven
 
 346 COLORADO. 
 
 feet of ore in these. The first and second classes sell 
 at S300 and $200, respectively, per ton. On what is 
 called the McMurdy property much work is being 
 done with large profits. 
 
 At the commencement of 1874, Wm. A. Hamill 
 became superintendent of the Dives. At this time 
 the suit-; had reached such a stage that the Pelican 
 owners were attaching all of the ore that came from a 
 certain part of the vein claimed by both parties. The 
 Dives men then mined their ore during the week and 
 ran it down on Sundays to Georgetown to a pur- 
 chaser, or to some place of concealment. Wagons 
 were on hand at 12 o'clock Saturday night, and the 
 work of transportation continued twenty-four hours. 
 Armed patrols and guards were hired at enormous 
 prices to guard the ore and mine from capture. 
 " Dives and Pelican," and the big suit and contest 
 were almost the only subjects of conversation. It 
 was truly a royal prize, and well worth the strenuous 
 efforts made to secure or hold it. Men of " nerve " 
 were required to carry on the contest, and they were 
 not lacking. Contracts and sub-contracts were let in 
 the Dives, the ore rolled out and the money rolled in 
 and circulated more or less to the benefit of everyone. 
 At this time the richest pocket was worked that had 
 ever been found in these silver mines, when size as 
 well as value is taken into considerarion. There was 
 an ore body seven feet wide, and most of it sold at 
 from $500 to $700 per ton. Over $70,000 worth of 
 ore was run down to Georgetown in two successive
 
 COLORADO. 347 
 
 Sundays. Under ordinary circumstances the profits 
 should have been ninety per cent. At length, $65,000 
 *n ore went down within twenty-four hours! Of 
 course, this represented the labors of a week. Then 
 came an injunction, procured from the courts by the 
 Pelican party, restraining further work in this spot of 
 contested ground. Mining was continued on the 
 remainder of the mine for over a year. In 1875, the 
 Pelican Company took possession of the disputed 
 ground. Then came another time of excitement and 
 the shooting of Jacob Snider, one of the Pelican 
 owners, by Jackson Bishop, one of the lessees of a 
 portion of the Dives underground workings. 
 
 In the spring of T876, and after half a million dol- 
 lars had been spent in litigation, an agreement was 
 entered into by the Pelican and Dives owners, whereby 
 further legal proceedings were for a time discontin- 
 ued. Everything was left in statu quo, so that litiga- 
 tion could be renewed if desired. The disputed 
 ground was divided, each working up to a certain 
 point. Thus were law and lawyers dispensed with by 
 by mutual concession, They will not probably be 
 required again, both parties having united in an effort 
 to sell the entire property. 
 
 A union of interests may some day be effected, 
 in case these mines are sold. Meantime both mines 
 are worked vigorously, giving employment to nearly 
 two hundred men altogether. The Diamond tunnel, 
 now 1,150 feet long, will cut these veins within 
 one hundred feet of its present heading. This will
 
 34^ COLORADO. 
 
 tap the vein at a depth of six hundred and fifty feet 
 or more, or below the lowest point reached. When 
 this is accomplished, however, the shafts of both Peli- 
 can and Dives will probably be down to that level- 
 The ore can then be run through the tunnel, thus 
 avoiding hoisting and freighting over the steep and 
 difficult road, that takes a zigzag course around the 
 mountain side and up to the mines. The latter will 
 also be effectually drained of water, and a vast saving 
 will be made in many ways. The entire production 
 of the Dives and Pelican is probably forty tons of 
 milling or saleable ore daily. Probably nearly at 
 much more is mined that is of too low a grade for 
 treatment, and most of this is concentrated and then 
 milled or sold. 
 
 Sherman mountain is east of Brown, and between 
 that and Republican. It is one of the grandest nat- 
 ural depositories of wealth the world can boast of. 
 .The main cluster of lodes is on the eastern part of 
 this mountain, and under and east of Cherokee gulch. 
 West of and crossing this ravine is the Phoenix- 
 Coldstream. The Pelican also crosses the gulch, and 
 further east are the Dives and Dunkirk. Lower down 
 the mountain side are the Baxter and Antelope, and 
 above and northeast of all are the Pay Rock, Silver 
 Plume, Snowdrift, Hopewell, Morse, Centre and 
 others. These are all apparently lodes of the first 
 class. 
 
 The Hercules lode was once held by five different 
 parties, each claiming to have a distinct vein. Samuel
 
 COLORADO. 349 
 
 Watson held a portion of this, and of the Roe or East 
 Roe, a larger and nearly parallel vein crossing it 
 where both lodes cross Brown gulch. A long and 
 bitter contest was kept up for possession. The Inter- 
 national company on the Hercules took out $150,000 
 in those years, and Watson & Co. took out large 
 quantities of silver. 
 
 In 1875 the various interests were consolidated 
 as the East Roe and Hercules and Seven-Thirty. 
 Monthly dividends were then disbursed. At the be- 
 ginning of 1876 the Consolidated Roe and Hercules 
 Mining company succeeded the above. The property 
 includes 1,500 feet in the Roe, and 5,000 on the Her- 
 cules. The latter extends on towards the upper part 
 of Sherman mountain. The workings cost $80,000, 
 and consist of six shafts and 2,500 feet of levels and 
 tunnels all near Brown gulch. Considerable depth is 
 gained each way from this ravine. The Burleigh tun- 
 nel will probably cut the eastern part of the Hercules 
 at some time in the future at a depth of 1,500 feet. 
 The Roe is six feet wide and over between walls, with 
 from six to twelve inches of mineral and a few narrow 
 seams. The vein like all others is "pinched" at times. 
 The Hercules is somewhat smaller. The average re- 
 ceipts from all ore sold was $241. Timbering costs 
 but little as there is a forest of great extent above the 
 mine. From fifteen to thirty men are usually em- 
 ployed. Total yield $250,000. 
 
 The Bismarck is a valuable mine and is located 
 above the Hercules.
 
 350 COLORADO. 
 
 The Phoenix lode on Sherman mountain and lies 
 adjacent to, and in nearly a. southwesterly direction from 
 the Pelican. It is owned for a distance of 3,000 feet, 
 by Crow and Kalhaugh. It has been opened to a 
 depth of three hundred feet, showing a large, rich and 
 well defined vein, width from three to ten feet of crev- 
 ice. It carries mineral from a with of four inches in 
 some places, to four feet in others. Sometimes a ton 
 of ore to the man has been broken daily. Discovered 
 in 1867 — little work done until 1871. Mill runs give 
 from $100 to #1,600, but #200 is a fair average. Work- 
 ing force, twenty men. J. F. Phillips is superinten- 
 dant. The Coldstream, formerly called the Maine, is 
 claimed to be on the same vein and is now held by 
 the above mentioned parties. These properties have 
 yielded altogether, #300,000. The vein and character 
 of ore has been much the same in both. The Maine 
 was located in 1871, and yielded in eight months 
 thereafter as follows : 
 
 OUNCES OF SILVER 
 
 Ore sold to Stewart, 29 tons 556 pounds i3>35° 3 2 
 
 Ore sold to Hill, 100 tons z 9.35° °° 
 
 Ore sold to Bement 13 tons t.5°9 °° 
 
 Ore at the mine 1,54800 
 
 Total 49. 68 9 3* 
 
 Expense of mine equal to 10,000 00 
 
 Net 38,689 32 
 
 The coin value of an ounce of silver was then $1.29. 
 
 W. T. Reynolds & Co. sold the property to W. W. 
 Glenn late in 1871, for #50,000. The matrix of the 
 vein is feldspathic rock and quartz. " Pay streak," 
 argentiferous galena, interspersed with gray copper,
 
 COLORADO. 35 1 
 
 ruby silver, iron and copper pyrites — granite forma- 
 tion. Two hundred and twenty-two tons gave an 
 average yield of $223. 
 
 Cashier. A strong rich vein midway between the 
 Pelican and the Terrible groups. Worked at inter- 
 vals. It is said to have been cut by the Burliegh 
 tunnel. 
 
 Mendota. Near and above the Cashier. Rich in 
 silver and lead. 
 
 Mammoth. Eastern extension of the East Terri- 
 ble — consequently is on Sherman mountain, near 
 Brown gulch. 
 
 Hopewell. Above and northwest of the Silver 
 Plume, etc. 
 
 Silver Plume. Comprises 3,000 feet. Owned by a 
 company of the same name. Teale, Foster & Co.. 
 agents. Leased, with twenty men at work. Opened 
 by adits and levels one hundred feet deep. Vein one 
 to six inches wide. Yield, $100 to $500. Yield in 
 1874, $60,000. 
 
 Snowdrift. Comprises 1,500 feet, owned by Snow- 
 drift Company. Teale, Foster & Co. agents. Worked 
 on lease. Vein three to fourteen inches — value of 
 ore, $80 to $800. Assays like its neighbors, way up 
 in the thousands. Lower tunnel three hundred feet 
 deep. The Snowdrift yielded in two years, ending 
 with 1 87 1 : two and one-half tons, 696 ounces of sil- 
 silver; six tons, 1,269 ounces; twenty tons, 3,800 
 ounces; fifty tons and 1,131 pounds, 14,064 ounces ; 
 one hundred tons, 26,913 ounces; twenty tons,
 
 JC2 COLORADO. 
 
 $22,130. Total, currency, value, $96,316.80. The 
 Snowdrift strikes on to Republican mountain, cross- 
 ing Silver Plume at something less than a right angle. 
 These lodes contain what is often called black sul- 
 phuret ore, while the Pelican, Terrible, Roe and Brown 
 groups carry galena, gray copper and zinc. 
 
 The Pay Rock, is a vein of great size and quite 
 profitable. Owned by Pay Rock Silver Mining Com- 
 pany. Thos. Ellis is superintendent, Chas. Morris, 
 cashier. The lode has yielded about $300,000 in a 
 little over three years. 
 
 Centre. A large rich vein, crossing the Silver 
 Plume and Snowdrift. Has a large vein carrying 
 three feet of ore. P. Skeahan owns eastern part. 
 
 Dunkirk. East of Dives and owned by Chas. Mor- 
 ris & Co. Has steam hoisting works and a large 
 building. Thought to be very valuable. 
 
 The Baxter has lately been proving itself a fine 
 piece of property. Building and machinery have 
 been put up over the shaft. As high as twelve tons 
 of ore have been sold in a single week, yielding from 
 $300 to $550. A ton of rich ore was sent to the Cen- 
 tennial.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 THE MINES OF CLEAR CREEK COUNTY. 
 
 McClellan Mountain mines— Region of Eternal Frost and 
 Snow— Leavenworth Mountain — The great Equator 
 and Colorado Central — An enormous lode— Ore too 
 rich in silver to stamp— Billy Linn's discovery — Mines 
 of other mountains — The Saco, Gates, Polar Star, and 
 others — A Cloud with a Silver Lining. 
 
 Beginning at the extreme western end of Clear 
 Creek county is the Baker lode, situated on Baker or 
 Kelso mountain, ten miles from Georgetown and but 
 two or three miles from Gray's Peak. Its elevation 
 is over 12,000 feet above sea level. The general 
 direction of the lode is about north, eighty degrees 
 east, true, and it dips to the north at an angle of fifty-five 
 to sixty degrees from the horizon. Its width varies 
 from three to fifteen feet, with well defined walls — 
 country rock, gneiss or granite. The ore seam is not 
 continuous, but occurs in disconnected bunches or 
 pockets. The mine has been operated by several 
 tunnels connected by winzes. The ore has yielded 
 from $50 to $300 per ton. 
 
 A large and expensive mill was erected by the 
 company in 186,8-69. The process was smelting with 
 lead, etc., but owing to the want of lead, chlorodizing- 
 roasting, with barrel amalgamation was adopted. Two 
 of the Bruckner cylinders used are now in the Pelican 
 22
 
 354 COLORADO. 
 
 mill. This establishment was destroyed by fire sev- 
 eral years ago. 
 
 In this district is the Brooklyn lode, which is rated 
 very highly and is producing considerable silver. 
 
 In full view of the Baker, on another division of 
 the Range, and one or two thousand feet above the 
 ravine, 12,600 feet above sea level, is the famous 
 Stevens mine. This mine has an arctic temperature, 
 being situated above timber line and far up on the 
 northwest face of McCl-llan mountain, that rises 2,500 
 feet above the valley leading to Gray's Peak. It was 
 first opened in 1867, the float ore leading to its dis- 
 covery. The severity of the climate and its almost 
 inaccessible position have retarded development, but it 
 has been worked pretty steadily ever since its discov- 
 ery. A ropeway was at first used in going and 
 returning from the mine, and then a wire tramway, 
 eight hundred and sixty-seven feet long. A sec- 
 ond tramway is now being built, 1,100 feet in 
 length. In this manner the ore is conveyed to the 
 wagon road in the gulch below, the cliff being too 
 steep for transporting anything by man or beast from 
 the mine. 
 
 The mine is worked in five different levels or tun- 
 nels, the lowest of which, just completed, is three 
 hundred and twenty feet below the others and four 
 hundred feet below the main opening. A vein of 
 argentiferous galena ore from two to twelve inches 
 wide, yields from $100 to $300 per ton. It carries 
 from fifty-five to sixty per cent, of lead, with some
 
 Colorado. 355 
 
 antimony but no zinc. The rock and crevice matter, 
 no matter how far into the mountain one goes, is 
 always frozen, summer or winter. Usually, at night 
 fires are built at the heads of the levels so as to 
 thaw the ground for the next day's operations. Less 
 blasting is necessary than in mines of lower elevations. 
 
 The miners live in houses that are fastened down 
 into the cliffs, not coming down except when going 
 to Georgetown, ten miles away. In winter, when 
 snows are constant, and the storm king, whose home 
 is in these solitary peaks, holds high carnival around 
 the mountain's brow, days pass when it is impossible to 
 see across the gulch. Communication is then shut 
 off from the rest of the world ; and in fact the miners 
 lay in their winter's supplies in the autumn months. 
 
 The yield of the Stevens has been many thousands 
 of dollars annually and occasionally per month. From 
 fifteen to twenty men have usually been employed. 
 The mine is at present more profitable than ever. 
 
 The Belmont and International, on McClellan moun- 
 tain, are famous by reason of their early discovery, 
 the first silver ore in Colorado, outside of the Coaley, 
 in Summit county, having been found on the first 
 named lode. Their elevations are somewhat similar 
 to those of the Stevens and Baker. 
 
 The discovery of the Belmont has already been 
 noted in the history of Clear Creek county. The 
 Pine Silver Mining Company was organized in 1865 
 on this property, with G. W. Lane as agent, who was 
 succeeded in 1871 by P. A. Skeahan. That year the
 
 $$6 COLORADO. 
 
 silver bullion from this mine carried off the first pre- 
 mium at the Denver fair. Much "dead work" was 
 done in opening the vein, which usually maintained a 
 width of twelve inches, and yielded $240 per ton- 
 The mine is two hundred feet deep and has 1,200 feet 
 of levels. Elevation 12,500 feet. Total yield, #50,000. 
 it has recently been worked under lease. 
 
 The International is located seven miles from 
 Georgetown, and is reached by a good mountain 
 road. The ore is a heavy galena with feldspathic 
 rock, quartz and gangue. The crevice, between slick- 
 inside walls, is from three to five feet wide — ore vein 
 four to fifteen inches. The International Company, 
 Frank Dibbin, agent, obtained eight hundred tons of 
 ore and over #50,000 in two years. A Bruckner cyl- 
 inder mill was in operation then. 
 
 The Hukill Silver mining Company, a newoigani- 
 zation, owns eight hundred feet on this lode and are 
 working it. An adit has been driven on the vein 400 
 feet long. The course of the vein is nearly at right 
 angles with that of the mountain. 
 
 Passing eastward from McClellan mountain on to 
 Leavenworth mountain brings one into a cluster or belt 
 of lodes of wonderful value. Chief among them is 
 the great Equator and Colorado Central vein. This is 
 one of the wonders of this truly wonderful region. It 
 is one vast ore channel or ledge, like the Pelican- 
 Dives and several Summit county and San Juan dis- 
 coveries, being of immense size and carrying veins and 
 ore seams of surpassing richness, that radiate through
 
 Colorado. 357 
 
 the crevice matter like branches to a tree. Cross- 
 cuts have been driven for distances of from sixty to 
 eighty feet without finding the south wall. Clarence 
 King made an examination of this lode prior to recent 
 explorations and reported as follows: 
 
 "Its course is north, fifty or fifty-five degrees east, 
 the dip nearly vertical, inclining to the north. The 
 north wall is well-defined, smooth and regular in 
 in its course; but the south wall is less clearly 
 marked, making it sometimes difficult to determine 
 the width of the vein. In some places where cross- 
 cut, it is said to be fifteen feet wide, but the average 
 width is four feet. The filling of the vein is of soft 
 material, consisting chiefly of quartz and feldspar; but 
 it sometimes passes into a harder rock, more granitic 
 in appearance. The ore is galena, zinc blende of 
 different varieties, considerable fahlerz, with ruby 
 silver and native silver." 
 
 The ore has yielded all the way from $100 to over 
 $1,000 per ton. In 1868, and up to 1869, the mine 
 had produced about $68,600 coin value, or nearly 
 $100,000 currency value. Of a large quantity of ore 
 milled,the average yield per ton, in coin value, was as 
 follows: Forty -four tons, $550; one hundred and 
 thirteen tons, $120.16; one hundred and sixty-eight 
 tons, $116.80; ninety tons, $120. Since the year 
 1870, the mine has been worked on a small scale by 
 leasers, but more extensive operations are now on the 
 tapis. The owners have plenty of money, and all but 
 one of them reside in the States and do not care
 
 358 COLORADO. 
 
 about taking out a large quantity of silver. John 
 Turk is the resident manager of the property. 
 
 In 1 87 1 -2-3 over one hundred men made good 
 wages and often as much as ten dollars per day in 
 picking over the "slide," or loose rock that had in 
 former ages fallen down the mountain side. This was 
 often verv rich in silver, and the prospectors knew it 
 must have come from some lode above, thought to be 
 the extension of the Equator. But this slide of loose 
 rock and boulders was so deep that all who attempted 
 to penetrate it in search of a vein gave up in despair. 
 At last Wm. Lynn, who had been making a desperate 
 fight for fortune for several years, began to prospect at 
 this point. After several discouraging ventures he sunk 
 a shaft through this difficult and dangerous "slide" 
 and then drifted for the vein, and to his intense grati- 
 fication at length discovered what he called the Colo- 
 rado Central. His difficulties in this undertaking can 
 be appreciated when the character of such ledges as 
 are described above is taken into consideration. 
 The lode was all that Lynn's fancy had painted in the 
 days when he was "hard up" and trying "his luck" in 
 prospecting for it. Ore was obtained that yielded hun- 
 dreds and even thousands of dollars. Of course the 
 seam of the latter character was extremely small, but 
 the entire lode proved very profitable. Weaver, Shep- 
 hard & Co. leased the mine and worked it in company 
 with Lynn. Then Gen. F. J. Marshall became a part- 
 ner. It put money in the purses of all connected 
 with it.
 
 Colorado. 359 
 
 The Marshall Tunnell company was organized 
 some seven or eight years ago by Gen. F. J. Marshall, 
 for the purpose of driving tunnels through Leaven- 
 worth mountain, from one side to the other. This 
 would develop lodes already discovered, and open all 
 veins in that locality that lay across the proposed 
 route. The Robinson tunnel is furthest up on the 
 mountain side, and is three hundred and fifty feet long. 
 Then there are the Thompson four hundred feet long, 
 and the Bruce two hundred. The Marshall tunnel is 
 located far below the Robinson and is 1,300 feet long. 
 What is called the McCoy shaft extends from a point 
 on the mountain side down to the tunnel, a distance of 
 five hundred and fifty feet. Through this a smoke 
 stack reaches up to daylight. This is for the boiler 
 and engines stationed there. A lease has been given 
 to another organization for the purpose of driving a 
 shaft 1,000 feet below tbe tunnel level. Previous to 
 the time when work began last fall, a large room had 
 been blasted out of the solid rock for the above men- 
 tioned machinery, which was to be stationed there. 
 To give the event an appropriate "send off" a ball was 
 held there which was largely attended by people from 
 far and near. It was a novel and attractive scene, this 
 dance down in the brilliantly illuminated ball room in 
 the heart of the mountain, over eight hundred feet 
 from the tunnel's mouth, and 9,382 feet above sea level. 
 
 At this point Marshall Tunnel lode Number Five 
 crosses the tunnel, a vein of great size, and carrying 
 exceedingly rich ore. From this and other lodes
 
 360 COLORADO. 
 
 opened by this company, $250,000 has been obtained 
 iu a period of less than four years. The Robinson 
 tunnel level on the above lode and on the Colorado 
 Central vein is five hundred feet long. A lower level 
 connecting the McCoy shaft and the Tobin shaft 
 (eighty feet deep) is three hundred feet in length. 
 The eastern levels from the Robinson tunnel are sixty, 
 one hundred and one hundred and ten feet long 
 respectively. 
 
 The lodes, cut by these tunnels, have the following 
 amount of shafts, levels, etc. Compass and Square, 
 five hundred; Reynolds, four hundred; O. K. fifteen 
 hundred. 
 
 The Colorado Central, the western part of the same 
 great ore channel as the main lode of the tunnel, com- 
 prises 1,500 feet, and is owned by Marshall & Com- 
 pany. This is considered the largest and strongest ore 
 body on the mountain. Levels extend from the main 
 shaft, one hundred and fifty feet deep, and a winze 
 carries the total depth down to two hundred feet below 
 the surface. From a part of the vein two hundred 
 feet long by two hundred deep, $150,000 have been 
 obtained since the discovery was made four or five 
 years ago. The ore that has been sold or milled 
 yielded from $150 to $1,500, the average being about 
 $300. 
 
 East of the Colorado Central is the Saco. This 
 has had some enormously rich "pockets." The ore 
 has yielded all the way from a hundred to several 
 thousands of dollars per ton. In 1872 Gaskell &
 
 COLORADO. 361 
 
 Co, leased this mine and made a small fortune out 
 of it in a few months. The receipts were often $500 
 a day and three-fourths profit. The property has 
 since been worked extensively but has not paid as Well. 
 Total yield $20,000. 
 
 The Gates mine is above the Saco and was discov- 
 ered in July, 1873, by running the Kirtley tunnel. It 
 is owned by Kirtley and Roberts, for a distance of 
 four hundred feet, they giving up their claims to the 
 remainder to avoid a law suit. The crevice is from 
 five to nine feet wide, with a very rich "pay streak" in 
 the centre. The owners have cut the lode with another 
 tunnel and have sunk shafts and run levels from both 
 tunnels. In 1873, twenty- two tons of ore sold at the 
 Whale mill for $5,400. Here are the returns for a 
 little over a year ending February 1, 1875, and while 
 the mine was not fairly opened. 
 
 PRICE RECEIVED 
 
 Whale mill bought 22 tons ore $ 5,4°° 00 
 
 Church bought 31 tons 612 pounds 5,689 14 
 
 Bement bought 3,110 pounds 983 94 
 
 Stewart bought 20 tons and 1,210 pounds 2,380 45 
 
 Stewart bought 4 tons 263 pounds 5,258 04 
 
 Total value $ 19,711 57 
 
 But few men were employed and the profits formed 
 a very large portion of the receipts. During the past 
 twenty months the mine has paid equally well. 
 
 The Gilpin is considered one of the best mines 
 on Leavenworth mountain and yielded largely in 
 1 87 1-2-3. 
 
 The Pulaski presents the singular feature of what
 
 362 COLORADO. 
 
 may be called a gold lode in a great silver belt. It is 
 situated far up on the northeast side of Leavenworth 
 mountain, and can be plainly seen from the road lead- 
 ing from Georgetown to Silver Plume. Some time 
 ago it was sold to the Pulaski company of Ohio, com- 
 prising the same men who operate the Silver Plume 
 Concentrating Works. The crevice is very large — 
 fifteen to twenty feet wide — and has been producing 
 twenty tons of ore daily — mine worked over one hun- 
 dred feet deep. Average assays two ounces of gold, 
 $35, and fifteen ounces of silver, $18. The ore is con- 
 centrated at the works above noted. A tunnel has 
 nearly reached the lode which will be nine hundred 
 feet long, and will strike the vein five hundred feet 
 down. With this advantage it is thought the property 
 can be opened rapidly and profitably. 
 
 Leavenworth mountain is a long and lofty ridge 
 bordered on either side by the two streams that form 
 the south fork of South Clear creek. Far up on its 
 pine covered crest is a natural basin of water called 
 Green Lake. Its elevation is 10,000 feet above sea 
 level, and 1,500 feet above Georgetown. It is a great 
 resort for tourists and pleasure seekers in the summer 
 months. Its owner, Wm. H. Cushman, president of 
 the first National Bank of Georgetown, has colonized 
 its waters with trout, and these have increased to 
 many thousands. With the Saco lode we come to 
 the point where Leavenworth mountain breaks off 
 into the valley of Georgetown. On the eastern side 
 of the valley rises another exceedingly high moun-
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 363 
 
 tain which looks proudly over the Silver Queen eity 
 to Republican and Democrat. It is called Griffith. 
 
 On Griffith mountain is the Griffith lode, which car- 
 ries a large vein of galena ore, usually of rather low 
 
 THE DEVI I. S GATE GEORGETOWN. 
 
 grade. The Anglo-Saxon, owned by J. B. Chaffee, 
 has been noticed before. It displayed a pocket of ore 
 when discovered, that assayed from one to twenty-
 
 364 COLORADO. 
 
 eight thousand dollars. This was soon exhausted. 
 The purchasers did no work for years after, and no 
 more ore could be found until recently. The lode is 
 now paying large profits. Near it is the Federal. 
 
 The Magnet has two rich veins of mineral eight 
 inches wide at present. One of them is mainly com- 
 posed of two hundred dollar ore and the other yields 
 from $100 to $800 per ton. Mr. Bronson and H. H. 
 Argue, bought the mine in 1875. Worked by tunnels. 
 One is 385 feet long and cuts the vein 500 feet deep. 
 G. B. Thompson the lessee, works 38 men, obtains five 
 tons of ore per month and is making money. 
 
 The Comet is another grand vein some distance 
 south of the Anglo Saxon, and is owned by J. B. 
 Chaffee. 
 
 Republican mountain adjoins Sherman on the east. 
 Here are the White, Elijah Hise, James Guthrie, Cal- 
 edonia, Ben. Hardin and South America, all notable 
 veins. 
 
 To the northward is Democrat mountain. Discov- 
 eries were made here years ago, but were generally 
 considered to be of little value until 1874. That year 
 a party of Nebraska farmers purchased the Fred. 
 Rogers lode. It had never amounted to much, and its 
 owner wanted to get clear of it, and the grangers 
 wanted to dispose of their land back in their former 
 home. So a trade was effected. Almost the first 
 blast fired in the mine disclosed a rich "pocket." The 
 shaft was deepened and a fine vein was disclosed, 
 yielding from #200 to #2,000 per ton, and the lucky
 
 COLORADO. 365 
 
 purchasers were soon making more money than they 
 knew what to do with. This started the prospectors 
 in that direction, and also caused all having lodes 
 there, that had been idle for years, to resume work 
 upon them. The result was many valuable discov- 
 eries, and the development of many supposed worth- 
 less properties into paying mines. 
 
 The Queen of the West is developed by some hun- 
 dreds of feet of tunnels and levels. This has yielded 
 a small fortune to its owners. The Silver Glance is a 
 continuation. 
 
 The Silver Cloud is owned by Barrett and McClellan. 
 Ten men are employed. Sinking and drifting goes 
 steadily on. In one locality the pay vein is from six 
 to eight inches wide on one wall, and returns of $600 
 down to $.200 have been obtained. On the foot wall 
 there are five inches of ore, gray copper, worth $1,000 
 per ton. Truly a cloud with a silver lining. 
 
 The Polar Star has yielded large quantities of rich 
 silver ore. As high as sixteen tons of ore have been 
 mined by five miners in a single week. Brittle and 
 native silver are found. The West Denver Dry Ore 
 Reducing company recently became interested in this 
 lode, and it supplies them with several tons of ore 
 daily. The Astor is similar to the above. The Henry 
 Ward Beecher and New Boston lodes carry low grade 
 silver ores, but are rich in lead. 
 
 It has generally been believed that all Colorado 
 silver ores could not be treated by the cheap process 
 of raw amalgamation. It is now asserted that many 
 of those of Democrat mountain can be,
 
 366 COLORADO. 
 
 The Nuckolls lode is on Columbia mountain, Grif- 
 fith mining district. This was one of the earliest 
 producers of silver, and many thousands of dollars 
 were obtained from it in a very short time. The 
 pocket having been exhausted, the owners went else- 
 where in search of wealth and left a fortune behind 
 them. It was recently purchased by the Hukill 
 Company and will be operated hereafter. The Baltic 
 and Washington, on the same mountain, are paying 
 largely. A tunnel supplied with railway track and 
 cars furnishes the means of operating the former. 
 
 The Young America is located on Red Elephant 
 mountain, just below the lower junction of the 
 Empire and Georgetown roads and six miles from the 
 latter place. It is owned and worked by J. N. Winders 
 and James Kirkland. Eight years ago they worked 
 out a rich pocket and then sunk over one hundred 
 feet without finding anything. Nothing further was 
 done until last spring. The old shaft was then cleared 
 of mud, rock, and 120 feet of water, and after sinking 
 for a short distance another ore deposit was found, 
 which has yielded from $199 to $1,288 per ton. 
 Seven thousand dollars was taken out before the shaft 
 was 240 feet deep. Fifteen men have been kept at 
 work and over $25,000 were expected to be obtained 
 during the last month, of which the writer has no 
 report. 
 
 It is well to remark here that the reader should not 
 consider high grade ore to be the sure and only indi- 
 cator of a valuable mine. The size of the vein should
 
 COLORADO. 367 
 
 be taken into consideration as well as the value per 
 ton of ore mined — for its quantity may make up for 
 the lack of quality. Furthermore, large veins are 
 always more uniform and continuous than small ones. 
 The latter often "cap " or dwindle to nothing for long 
 distances. This is why large silver veins, nearly or 
 quite two feet wide, like the Pelican-Dives or Hukill, 
 that yield one or two hundred dollar ore, but can pro- 
 duce many tons per diem, are far more profitable than 
 less regular veins, carrying only a few inches of ores 
 that yield #500 to $800 per ton. Gold veins, whose 
 contents carry but $15 or $20 per ton, but have a 
 width of many feet, and can be treated by raw amal- 
 gamation, are also extremely profitable.
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 MINES I H CLEAR CREEK COUNTY. 
 
 Tin Idaho and Spanish Bar Silver Belt— A Treasure 
 Vault that Never Fails — The Peerless Hukill—A mine 
 Worth tyuii/ to -Us Record and Capacity — The Seaton 
 — Gold Lodes and Placers. 
 
 At the lower and near the northeastern end of 
 Clear Creek county, is a silver belt which extends 
 from Gilpin county over the divide to Fall River. 
 This embraces the Clifton and extensions, the Seaton 
 and its neighbors, and the lodes in the mountains 
 bordering Clear Creek in the vicinity of Spanish Bar, 
 of which the Hukill is chief. 
 
 The Hukill mine is situated in Spanish Bar mining 
 district, two miles above Idaho Springs, and seven 
 miles from Floyd Hill station, on the Colorado Cen- 
 tral railroad. It extends from the banks of South 
 Clear Creek through and over a mountain that rises 
 abruptly therefrom, and is directly opposite the Whale 
 mill. The location is admirably adapted to tunneling 
 directly on the vein, and the lode has been opened by 
 this means — one level starting just above the creek 
 level. An immense amount of ground can be stoped 
 out as the levels or tunnels progress toward the 
 mountain's interior, without the expensive work of 
 sinking shafts that many mines require. 
 
 Probably no better silver vein has been developed
 
 tOLORADO. 369 
 
 in Colorado than the Hukill. None have shown 
 equal uniformity, combined with size and great value 
 of vein material. These are the requisites for a prof- 
 itable mine. The Hukill possesses them to such a 
 degree, that it is undoubtedly capable of giving a 
 higher percentage of profit than any mine yet opened, 
 when the total yield is taken into consideration. 
 
 Many lodes have paid better for a time on rich ore 
 deposits or "pockets." Other lodes yield more silver 
 to the ton of ore, but their veins are usually so narrow 
 that fewer tons can be mined ; and some have broader 
 veins but poorer ore, much of it incapable of yielding 
 a profit. Silver veins usually vary greatly, "widening 
 out and then pinching up," but the Hukill never has 
 done so to any noticeable extent during all of the 
 years it has been operated. 
 
 The Hukill combines all of the desirable qualities, 
 richness, size and uniformity, and with two years 
 further development, will doubtless equal any mine in 
 the state, one year after another, in regularity and 
 amount of dividends. That its yield so far has been 
 smaller than many, is due to the fact that no ore was 
 removed except what was necessary in opening pas- 
 sage ways to explore the lode and ascertain what it 
 was made of. These passage-ways consist of a few 
 short shafts and levels, driven the width of the crev- 
 ice, and to the heighth of six feet and a fraction. All 
 of the ore between these shafts and levels above and 
 below, has been left standing, ready to be removed 
 when desired by the cheap method of stoping. The 
 23
 
 370 COLORADO. 
 
 vein of mineral or rich ore has everywhere maintained 
 an average width of eighteen or twenty inches and 
 often more. 
 
 The average value of all the ore obtained has been 
 $114.82 per ton. Beside this there has been a much 
 larger body of low grade ore that goes to fill up the 
 crevice. There is a width between the well defined 
 walls of five feet, but occasionally of from eight to 
 twelve. A large portion of this is concentrated, and 
 the valuable portion secured and sent to the smelter 
 along with the contents of the pay vein itself. No 
 work of any importance was done until the year 1871- 
 Since then no month has failed to return a profit, and 
 no money has been used except what came from the 
 mine The same regular vein has been maintained 
 year after year, with no signs of failing, but, on the 
 contrary, gaining in value and size — and this is an 
 unusual occurrence. 
 
 The character of the ore is argentiferous, auriferous 
 and cupiferous. The containing rock of the mine 
 may be classed as granitic. The vein is readily traced 
 by its strong outcrops on the surface as well as by the 
 open cuts and shafts sunk upon it. Prof. J. G. Pohle's 
 report on this property contains the following : 
 
 The outcrops show blossom rock, interspersed with 
 gold and copper bearing pyrites, and stained with 
 various colors of green, blue and brown ; these large 
 and characteristic outcrops at once indicate it to be a 
 strong and rich ore depository. 
 
 In February, 1871, John M. Dumont began opera-
 
 COLORADO. 371 
 
 tions on the Hukill. The ore was of a quality that 
 paid large profits. It was sold at the Boston and Col- 
 orado Smelting works at Black Hawk. At first gold 
 predominated, but as the levels entered the lode the 
 proportions of silver increased and finally exceeded 
 in value the yield of gold. Instead of removing all 
 of the ore as fast as he came to it, as most miners do, 
 the owner of this property left the entire ore deposits 
 between the levels (driven fifty feet, one above another) 
 stand as reserves. Had these been disposed of the 
 yield would have been over three times as large. As 
 it is, 5,000 tons of ore can be taken out hereafter, fur- 
 nishing an ore supply for two years to come, while 
 still larger portions of the vein in the heart of the 
 mountain are being opened than before. Thus the lode 
 can be developed in advance of the ore supply, always 
 keeping reserves worth hundreds of thousands of dol- 
 lars ready to be drawn upon. The following hand- 
 some showing was obtained simply from 1,608 feet of 
 levels and shafts, run but a little over six feet high 
 and the width of the crevice, for a distance of 300 
 feet on the vein and principally above the creek level. 
 Yield for five years to September, 1876 : 
 
 Ore mined, 1,700 tons returned $195,200 
 
 Total cost of production 167,140 
 
 Net profit $ 28,060 
 
 These results are from what is usually termed " dead 
 work ( " on a mine ; that is putting it in shape for pro- 
 duction. The design was to secure large ore reserves,
 
 37- COLORADO. 
 
 but mainly to ascertain what the lode contained. Tts 
 value can be estimated from the three - hundred feet in 
 length now opened, as there is every probability that 
 the vein extends thousands of feet into the mountain. 
 
 This property comprises 1,288 feet on the Hukill 
 vein. The mine is well opened every forty or fifty 
 feet by levels, as follows : First level, 300 feet ; second, 
 300; third, 168; fourth, 90; total, 858 feet. The 
 shafts and winzes have the following depths : Dis- 
 covery shaft 100 feet, main, 160, tunnel 150, creek 
 shaft, 40, surface shafts, 150, winzes and air shafts, 
 150; total, 750 feet; making total number of feet sunk 
 or drifted on the mine, 1,608. 
 
 Three months ago the ore left standing between the 
 various levels was estimated to represent the follow- 
 ing quantity, value and profit. 
 
 Estimated number of tons of ore in reserves 5i2o8 
 
 Estimated value $476,820 
 
 Estimated cost of production 261,350 
 
 Net profit $215,470 
 
 Every item in the above is based on low estimates 
 for quantity and value, and high estimates for expense. 
 The actual average value of the ore sold was $114.82 
 per ton. The estimated cost is placed at $90 per ton- 
 This is based on previous expenses, whereas the ore 
 bodies new standing can be stoped out at much less 
 expense than ore can be mined in running levels and 
 sinking shafts. Expenses are now thirty-three per 
 cent less than during much of the period of part 
 of the workings on the mine. Furthermore, the state-
 
 COLORADO. 373 
 
 ment is based on allowing three tons of ore per 
 fathom of ground, when the vein in many places is 
 wide enough to produce six tons per fathom. Subse- 
 quent developments have not only opened up more 
 ground on the vein, but have proved that the mine 
 and ore deposits have a greater average value than 
 given above. So that in two years the profit is likely 
 to exceed $350,000 from the ore now in sight, or 
 sixty-five per cent, of its yield, with every probabil- 
 ity that at the end of that time an additional amount 
 of ground will have been opened of equal if not 
 greater value, and whose yield should be $700,000. 
 For the interior workings yield better than those near 
 the surface, and the developments of the past three 
 months prove the mine to be better, and capable of 
 making a far superior showing to any statement given 
 here. The time taken to secure the past yield and 
 bring the mine to its present condition was five years ; 
 the capital employed, intelligence and labor ; the result 
 the opening of a treasure vault that " knows no such 
 word as fail." 
 
 A few months ago Dumont sold the Hukill for $200,- 
 OOO, cash paid in hand and it is now operated by the 
 Hukill Mining Company. Prof. Pohle's report of this 
 mine contains some interesting facts and figures, as 
 will be seen below. 
 
 Assays from ten to thirty samples, taken promiscuously from many points ol the 
 mine. 
 
 Gold, 5..J7 ounces # io 5 °° 
 
 Silver, 94.27 ounces II2 °° 
 
 Copper, 7)6 percent 15 oo 
 
 Total & 2 3 2 8o
 
 374 COLORADO. 
 
 Careful estimates give .1 result of 1,631 tons of this description. 
 rhe argentiferous galena in this body is interspersed with large blotches and 
 pati hes containing about 2 per cent, of the whole, most of which can in: separated 
 by hand so as to yield over 60 per cent, in lead An assay of the galena showed 
 it to yield : 
 
 Lead, 70 per cent $5° °° 
 
 Silver, 20 ounces 34 80 
 
 Total $84 8" 
 
 This product realizes largely at the lead smelting works. 
 
 Average of imperfectly concentrated ore, four tons into one, from another locality 
 gave the following result : 
 
 Gold, 3.88 ounces ?75 °° 
 
 Silver, 15.83 ounces 19 20 
 
 Total value per ton $94 20 
 
 Other assays gave $160 52 and #160 25 and all the way from 2.2 ounces in gold to 
 7, and from 5.25 in silver to 196. 
 
 The gangue rock rises in different parts of the mine, being mainly hard and 
 quartzose in the southwesterly and the northeasterly ends of the drifts, with a cent- 
 ral stratum of soft porphyritic rock and micaceous schist conglomerate, lying 
 between the two, the walls on either side of the lode being mainly a gneiss and 
 mica sch ; st formation. The entire cost of stoping out the underground workings 
 would be $42. 50 per fathom or £5,31 per ton — freight to Black Hawk, $5.00 per ton 
 — total, per ton, $10.31. 
 
 The Seaton mine is one of the most celebrated of 
 Clear Creek county. Its yield has not been less than 
 a quarter of a million, but may be far greater. It wa 
 first worked for gold, but as depth was attained that 
 metal became less abundant, and finally nearly the 
 entire product was silver. Portions of this mine 
 changed hands in the years between 1868 and 1873. 
 One portion owned by a Louisville company was 
 extremely productive in 1870-1-2. It has not been 
 steadily or properly operated since then. A report 
 made at one time several years ago by a careful expert 
 contained an estimate of ore in sight giving it a value 
 of $161, 33 1, with a probable cost to mine and mill the
 
 COLORADO. 375 
 
 same of $105,000, leaving over $56,000 profit. More 
 than that sum was cleared in the years mentioned 
 above. The main ore vein was from four to six inches 
 wide and would usually mill over $100 per ton. Ex- 
 Senator Wigfal of Texas managed another part of this 
 lode for a time. T. J. Dean and others own por- 
 tions of it. 
 
 The Seaton was the first Colorado mine that changed 
 from a rich gold vein on the surface to one of silver in 
 the depths below. This was in 1862 and before the 
 existence of silver was thought of here. The low 
 grade of the gold retort, $7 to $g per ounce, was 
 caused by the prevalence of silver in the bullion. It 
 was not until silver mining became general that the 
 Seaton was successfully worked, and that its yield was 
 remarkable. 
 
 The Victor or "flat vein" crops out on the surface 
 above the Seaton and overlaps it. Has produced con- 
 siderable rich ore. 
 
 The Franklin has been worked quite extensively on 
 the part owned by the Boston and Philadelphia com- 
 pany. A mill was built two miles below Idaho, whose 
 machinery and process has been changed several times 
 and at considerable expense. The vein of the lode is 
 from six inches to two feet wide, and is usually of low 
 grade, yielding from forty to fifty dollars per ton. 
 
 The Santa Fe is a gold and silver bearing lode and 
 has been opened by a large number of shafts. 
 
 The Queen lode is owned by Wm. Queen, Hall and 
 Morgan. The pay vein has generally a width of eight
 
 3/6 COLORADO. 
 
 inches, but has varied from a narrow seam up to fifteen 
 inches. The ore has usually yielded $iooper ton but 
 often sells for more, one lot bringing $340. Five 
 thousand dollars was taken out in one winter, and 
 thirty thousand up to 1873. The discovery shaft is 
 two hundred and thirty-four feet deep. Work has 
 been resumed in shaft number three, which is one 
 hundred and five feet deep. 
 
 The Crown Point and Consolidated Virginia lode 
 owned by the Martin brothers and J. V. Kimber, who 
 have secured a government patent on the same, is 
 located near the head of Virginia Canon. The vein 
 is five feet in width between walls, all "pay," and has 
 yielded in stamp mills, from seven to twenty-two 
 ounces of gold per cord, or from $20 to $65 per ton. 
 This has been paying a profit of from $20 to $40 per 
 day to each man employed. The main shaft is 127 
 feet deep, and the other shafts along the line of the 
 lode are from 20 to 70 feet deep. A single load of ref- 
 use rock had not been raised from the mine at the 
 point worked during the time that fifty cords of ore 
 were taken out. 
 
 The Specie Payment, near the head of Virginia 
 Canon, is a profitable gold vein, and was bought by a 
 company of Troy, New York, for #12,500. 
 
 Cascade district is situated south of Spanish Bar, 
 and on the head waters of South Clear creek. The 
 Cascade lode is among the most promising in the 
 county. 
 
 The gulch and bar diggings above and below Idaho
 
 COLORADO. 377 
 
 have yielded altogether, nearly three quarters of a 
 million. The most promising diggings at present 
 are those of John Easley, which have usually pro- 
 duced from one to three thousand dollars per month 
 for over a year. They are one mile above Idaho 
 Springs, and are worked by means of shafts sunk on 
 the bank from which drifts are run under the bed of 
 the creek, and on the "bed rock" or granite forma- 
 tion. Here levels are run, supported by heavy timb- 
 ers, while the river bed to the thickness of forty feet, 
 lies above them, and over all flows the stream itself. 
 Powerful pumping machinery relieves the mine of the 
 water that continually leaks in from above. 
 
 Over 14,000 lodes, or what are claimed as lodes, 
 have been recorded in Clear Creek county. The 
 Brick Pomeroy, O. K., Harris, Kilbride, and others, 
 extremely rich in silver, and a hundred that may 
 hereafter be famous, could be mentioned, but want of 
 space forbids. It is so with every district, and county. 
 It is impossible to describe or even mention every val- 
 uable property when they are numbered by thousands, 
 and are scattered over an ocean of mountains, from 
 Wyoming to New Mexico. 
 
 The milling facilities of Clear Creek county, exclud- 
 ing all works not in operation, are as follows: 
 
 Three sets of concentrating works of a total capacity of 100 tons. These prepare 
 low grade ores for the smelting or reducing establishments. 
 
 CAPACITY, 
 IN TONS. 
 
 Stewart Silver Reducing Company, roasting and leaching 5 
 
 *Pelican mill, roasting and amalgamating 15 
 
 Judd & Crosby, " " 12 
 
 Clear Creek Company (Taylor's new works; roasting and leaching . 14 
 
 Daily capacity 4° 
 
 * The Pelican mill can handle this quantity daily of the lighter ores, but not of 
 Pelican ore. 
 
 The quantity of ore sent away for reduction is 
 double that retained in the county for treatment.
 
 CHAPTKR XXXVI 
 
 BOULDER COUNTY. 
 SILVER MINKS ()K CARIBOU DISTRICT. 
 
 How a big silver vein was found — Story of the Caribou 
 mine Ward money and plenty of it — A heavy sale— 
 J53 f OOO,000 for a mine— Facts end figures regarding a 
 •Silver mill — The North Boulder Silver mill— the Native 
 Silver — New reducing works — A network of silver veins. 
 
 No county has been more highly favored by nature 
 than Boulder. It embraces that combination of moun 
 tain, valley and plain that reverts in the highest meas- 
 ure to the advantage of all. The entire section is well 
 watered with beautiful streams, which afford ample 
 power for milling and manufacturing purposes, at the 
 same time that the fertile low lands reap the full ben- 
 efit thereof for necessary irrigation. The county is 
 about equally divided between mountain and plain. 
 The mountains are wonderfully rich in auriferous and 
 agentiferous deposits, and the latter in coal. Further 
 than this, Colorado and the world possesses no better 
 nor more bountiful lands than those in the charming 
 valleys of the Boulder, the Big Thompson and Saint 
 Vrain. 
 
 The mineral districts include the Caribou silver belt 
 and that of Sugar Loaf and vicinity, while both met- 
 als are found abundantly in what is known as the 
 Tellurium belt. The mines of Caribou will be the 
 first to receive attention. 
 
 The veins that produce the largest quantities of sil- 
 ver, are mainly composed of low grade ore. A half
 
 Colorado. 379 
 
 dozen mines, carrying low grade or medium ores, 
 could be mentioned, any one of which yields more 
 money than ten or twenty of its neighbors that pro- 
 duce five or eight hundred dollar ore, almost exclu- 
 sively. Thus the Caribou mine, whose average yield 
 in 1875, was only $69.49 per ton, produced $204,703, 
 in that year, or more than all other Boulder silver veins 
 combined. The Pelican and Dives, with a larger per- 
 centage of ores requiring concentration, produced 
 more, and cleared more money, than large numbers 
 of their neighbors. So it was with the Pocahontas, 
 Hukill and others. The truth is, there is more money 
 in immense quantities of ore paying a small profit per 
 ton than in very small lots of ore paying large profits 
 per ton. 
 
 In the upper and southwestern part of the county and 
 closely bordering the bald and barren peaks of the 
 Snowy Range is a cluster of forest clad hills. One of 
 the "old time" prospectors and hunters had discovered 
 a gold vein here in 1864, which he named the Congor, 
 after himself. But as the locality was far distant from 
 any settlement but little came of it. Years after, 
 while at Cheyenne, Congor saw some sih/er ore from 
 Nevada, and he was at once struck with its similarity 
 to loose rock he had often stumbled over in his soli- 
 tary hunting trips among the hills near Arapahoe Peak. 
 On his return to Gilpin county, he induced two 
 acquaintances, William Martin and George Lytle, to 
 accompany him and prospect for the (to them) new 
 mineral, silver ore. Three farmers, Hugh McCam- 
 mon, S. Mishler and John Pickle, were also interested 
 in the enterprise. On arriving at the park of the 
 North Boulder, the party commenced ascending the 
 hill, following the "blossom rock" after the manner 
 of prospectors, until no more could be seen, when 
 they began to dig for veins. Each " struck a crevice "
 
 380 COLORADO. 
 
 not far removed one from another. Having in mind 
 his own financial condition, Congor very appropriately 
 gave his the name of Poor Man, while Martin called 
 his the Caribou, after a rich mining district in British 
 Columbia. It was the last day of summer in 1869. 
 Specimens of the ore were taken to Central and 
 assayed, and were found to be enormously rich. 
 With light hearts the prospectors returned with. sup- 
 plies to the newly found camp in the mountains, and 
 ■worked away until they had a goodly supply of ore 
 piled around their prospect hole. Then came the 
 long and tedious task of cutting a road through the 
 timber to the nearest ranch and road — miles away 
 down on the Middle Boulder. A wagon load of ore 
 was finally taken to the smelting works at Black 
 Hawk and yielded hundreds of dollars. The fondest 
 expectations of our silver hunters were realized, and, 
 sleeping or waking, dreams of sudden wealth with- 
 out doubt were with them. Previous to this time, 
 Congor had exchanged his one-sixth interest in the 
 Caribou for the entire right of his partners in the 
 Poor Man. Both lodes have since proved good 
 enough to keep. But winter soon came on, which at 
 this mine, 10,000 feet above sea level, is long and 
 severe, and almost one continuation of storms and 
 snpws, driven from the peaks above. Work was con- 
 tinued, however, in order to have a supply of ore 
 ready for the smelter at the earliest approach of sum- 
 mer. Martin and his partners carried their winter's 
 supplies in on their backs that season, and built a log 
 cabin on the town site of Caribou. By the following 
 June the "strike" of these pioneers had been noised 
 abroad, and miners and prospecters began to flock in 
 from the settlements in large numbers. In the mean- 
 time, the ore was kept rolling out of the Caribou, and 
 in return, goodly rolls of bright, crisp greenbacks
 
 COLORADO. 381 
 
 found their way into the miners' pockets. Other dis- 
 coveries followed, such as the Columbia, Spencer, 
 Boulder County, Trojan and Sovereign People. In 
 July and August of 1870, several hundred men had 
 gathered in the valley just east of Caribou hill. They 
 camped under trees, in brush houses and in tents 
 until log cabins and frame buildings, stores and hotels 
 had been erected, and the town of Caribou was fairly 
 under way. At this time the hills were pretty well 
 dug over in search of lodes. One party found 
 remarkably rich ore on the surface, and in sinking a 
 shaft twenty feet realized over $6,000. This was done 
 within a month's time. They called it the Idaho. 
 The No Name and Seven-Thirty were also discov- 
 ered at this time. 
 
 A. D. Breed, a wealthy capitalist of Cincinnati, who 
 had become interested in silver mining and milling at 
 Black Hawk, purchased the western half of the Car- 
 ibou for $50,000, September 21,1 870. Work was con- 
 tinued on both parts of the mine with great vigor; 
 $70,000 is said to have been taken out that season, and 
 the shaft was two hundred feet deep in January. Up 
 to October 1, 1872, or in one year, Breed had obtained 
 3,650 3-4 tons of ore, most of it paying good profits. 
 This same year he built a large silver reducing mill 
 one hundred and sixty-five feet by one hundred, on 
 Middle Boulder creek, four miles distant. The origi- 
 nal Caribou owners continued to realize largely on 
 their part of the lode. In the spring of 1873, the 
 entire mine and the mill were sold in Holland for 
 $3,000,000, one-half paid in stock and the remainder 
 in money. It is understood that Breed received 
 $1,000,000, the first original Caribou owners about 
 $165,000, and Cutter, Anker, Shaffenburg and others 
 the remainder. Too much money was paid for the 
 property. The agents' of the Mining Company Neder-
 
 382 COLORADO. 
 
 land, as the Holland organization was called, were 
 Win Diest, then Anker and lastly Prince. From 
 seventy to ninety men were usually employed. The 
 yield of the mine for the year 1874 was given at 1,800 
 tons of ore and £130,000. The yield for 1875 was 
 $204,703.71, and for 1876 up to November about 
 $25,000. The total yield of the mine since its dis- 
 covery has exceeded $$775,000, and it is estimated that 
 specimens have been carried off, by miners (for sale) 
 and by visitors, that contained nearly $75,000. Some 
 of the ore is ribbed and spangled with streaks, masses 
 and nuggets of pure silver. The disasters that have 
 overtaken this company and mine were due to incom- 
 petency, dishonesty and internal dissensions. There 
 was a large quantity of good ore in the mine when the 
 Holland agent examined it before the sale. This 
 Breed removed before the Hollanders took possession, 
 so that instead of a mine full of ore to reap a profit 
 from, they had one nearly empty and in bad condition. 
 Money was wanted at once to sink the mine into 
 another ore body. The company became involved at 
 the start, quarreled among themselves, and was never 
 out of trouble until the entire property was sold under 
 the sheriff's hammer Sept. 15, 1876. Jerome B. 
 Chaffee bid in the mine and mill for $70,100. For 
 nine months previous a force of men, to whom the 
 Mining Company Nederland was in arrears, held the 
 mine and were taking out their back pay. The mill 
 was idle during that time. For several years the pay 
 roll had called for from $12,000 to $15,000 per month. 
 Eben Smith is now superintendent for the new pur- 
 chasers and began the work of putting the mine in 
 order in October. As it is in bad condition, with the 
 ore bodies in the levels nearly exhausted, considerable 
 dead work will be required. The shaft, now five hun- 
 dred and twenty feet deep, will be deepened. The
 
 COLORADO. 383 
 
 mill will not be started up until the spring of 1877, by 
 which time a plentiful supply of ore will have been 
 secured. 
 
 The Nederland or Caribou mill was built at Neder- 
 land on the banks of Middle Boulder creek in 1871, 
 four miles from Caribou, under the supervision of B. O. 
 Cutter for A. D. Breed. It began operations about 
 the close of that year with Charles E. Sherman as 
 superintendent. It is one hundred and sixty-five feet 
 by one hundred, has five terraces or floors, and was 
 built to be run by steam. It contains a Blake crusher, 
 three batteries of five stamps each, four Bruckner cyl- 
 inders, and fourteen amalgamating pans, with settlers, 
 agitators, etc. Pan amalgamation is where this mill 
 differed from the Pelican. 
 
 Some interesting data will be found below regarding 
 this mill and its operations for the year 1875, furnished 
 by superintendent N. H. Cone. 
 
 The mill closed down just before the end of December. Charge of cylinders, 
 usually 3,700 pounds, sometimes 3,500 ; time i% to 11 hours ; amount of salt used 
 175 to 200 pounds ; class of ores about n per cent, mineral, as follows : 5 per cent, 
 galena, 4 of blende and 2 of copper pyrites ; a few custom ores would rarely con- 
 tain 30 to 40 cent, of mineral ; assays made of the work of each man employed in 
 mill and average recorded on the office book ; 25 men employed. 
 
 Highest saving of precious metals contained in the 0^95.9 per cent.; lowest 85.5; 
 average of months from 88 to 92.8; average assay value of ore for the year 48 7-12 
 ounces or §60. 17 coin value, or over $69.49 currency; total number of tons of ore 
 treated in 1875, 3,819.1 ; highest in a single month 393.9; fineness of bullion, 713 
 to 946, average between 800 and 900. Total number barrels of salt used 1,374 ; 
 Expenses per ton of treating ore (currency value) were as follows : 
 
 Labor $6.18 
 
 Quicksilver .76 
 
 Salt 2.09 
 
 Wood 
 
 Oil, candles, etc 
 
 Repairs 
 
 Total per ton $14.51 
 
 Here is Prince's statement of the operations of the 
 mill for the month of September, 1875 :
 
 384 COLORADO. 
 
 Mill in operation .m days loiisol mr iir.ilnl Iimhi I'arilmu mine 151 808- 1 one 
 
 ol in average assay value of 43.6 oz.; from Caribou dump or waste pile 83.112 
 1 or. Ores from other mines 13.08 tons ; av. value 87.4 oz.; total 
 number tons treated, 248. The ounce is re< koned at .1 coin value of $1.24. 
 
 ifull or charges produced' 1,450 lbs. amalgam, 
 
 25 pans 1 raped 1,31° " " 
 
 I 'otal put in n tori 2,760 " 
 
 aftei n fining six bricks, 9,260 ounces. 
 Average fineness bullion, 8.029. 
 
 Caribou mine produced $11,302.60 
 
 ( lustom ores " 621.00 
 
 Total currency value of six bricks $11,823.60 
 
 The working expenses of the mill were : 
 
 Pay roll $6,065.55 
 
 \|i]i.n.ni loss quicksilver .05 of a pound per ton of ore. .. 123.10 
 
 Salt, 27,440 lbs 583.10 
 
 Wood, 358 cords at #3 1,074.00 
 
 Oil, etc 100.00 
 
 Total cost of running mill $3,945-75 
 
 Average expense per ton of ore treated, $14.90. 
 
 The Caribou mine is one of the seven mines of Col- 
 orado that produced over $200,000 in 1875, Owing 
 to the fact that the company treated their own ores, a 
 very fair profit was made. The same was the case in 
 1 87 1 -2, and will be under the efficient management 
 that will ensue. During most of the time since 1870 
 from eight to fifteen tons of ore were mined daily. 
 The mill, with a capacity of fourteen to fifteen tons 
 daily, treated but little from other mines ; the Black 
 Hawk smelting works, and the North Boulder mill 
 getting most of it. Over 3,250 square fathoms of 
 ground have been broken in the Caribou. The vein 
 has varied in width from two to ten feet, and in pro- 
 duction, from much that was thrown over the dump 
 to that which would assay hundreds of dollars per 
 ton. The most of the ore yielded from $60 to $80. 
 In the centre of the lode but little barren ground was 
 met with. A building of immense size covers a part
 
 COLORADO. 385 
 
 of the mine. This contains powerful hoisting machin- 
 ery and engines, and is used for assorting and storing 
 ore. 
 
 The Caribou belt is evidently a continuation of 
 that at Sugar Loaf mountain. It extends westward 
 over several hills from North Boulder on to and 
 through the Snowy Range itself. The leading and 
 best developed clusters of lodes are on Idaho and Car- 
 ibou hills. A portion of the latter is one vast net- 
 work of veins. 
 
 The following regarding this locality is from P. H. 
 Van Diest, E. M. 
 
 The oldest formed and most important of these groups of veins comprise those 
 running east and west; the veins bearing northwest and southwest are crossing 
 veins and they fault more or less the lodes of the first group. The veins running 
 east northeast, and west southwest, have a quartz ore gangueand many otherpoints 
 of great similarity with the east and west running veins. The vein matter of the 
 northeast and southwest lodes is in general much softer and easier broken ; it has in 
 many places a bright red color, owing to the presence of oxide of iron ; it contains 
 also a good deal of calcspar, never yet found in any other group of veins. The ores 
 in all these veins are in principal bi-sulphuret of silver, silver glance, stephanite, 
 argentiferous galena and copper pyrites, generally rich in silver, often containing as 
 much as eight per cent. 
 
 The veins on the Caribou hill can all be classed as true fissure veins, and have in 
 general well defined walls. The ore is distributed principally in the east and west 
 veins in chimneys, being ore streaks of the veins running nearly perpendicularly 
 with a slight dip or inclination towards the east, widening and narrowing at different 
 depths, but never giving out entirely. In these chimneys the ore accumulates in 
 pockets. Between the pockets and within the boundaries of the chimneys the vein 
 is sometimes poorer'but never entirely without ore. Barren ground occurs between 
 the ore chimneys. The value of a vein on the Caribou hill depends mostly on the 
 extent of these barren parts. 
 
 \ peculiar fact observed in many of the north-u est and SOUrh-west veins is, that 
 they are not so very rich in themselves, but when they cmss east and west vein> 
 they impoverish then, and cany the mineral for some distance themselves. Thi> 
 makes the north-east and south west veins valuable, considering the many crossil gs. 
 Besides, these veins, have .1 soft Cri vice matter and are. consequently, easy mined. 
 
 A brief review only of this famous district and many 
 of its prominent mines can be given, but will well 
 repay perusal. 24
 
 t86 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 I 'he Poorman lode is parallel with and jusl below and north of the Caribou, and 
 thirty feet liclow the Sherman. Its western hall is owned by Nicl McKenzie 
 and the remainder l>y Su-hhins, Hin^foid & Co. The main shafi is Jo8 feel deep, 
 and down to the Caribou tunnel which intersects this and neighboring lodes. Three 
 levels have been run east and wist of the shaft. But little work was done on the 
 
 lode until CongOl sold it. In 1S74-5 it yielded 152 tons of ore for which $21,504 
 were paid at Black Hawk, Golden and Nederland, with a profit of $12,000 The 
 
 THE Wl i" I) STEAM DRILL 
 
 mine has not been worked regularly, but there is no reason why it should not be. 
 In 1876 ore yielded iron, fiooto $300 per ton at North Boulder. Thevein is usually 
 
 from one to two feet wide. 
 
 The Sherman lode has produced some of the richest ore found on the hill. Its 
 vein is usually from six to twelve inches wide; main shaft two hundred and sixty-
 
 COLORADO. 387 
 
 five feet deep, or forty feet deeper than the Caribou tunnel level. In 1876, three 
 hundred tons of ore of the average value of $270 was sold to the Boston and Colo- 
 rado Smelting works. 
 
 The No Name mine has a north-easterly and south-westerly direction. It crosses 
 the Caribou and Sherman — the former at or near the shaft and the latter some dis- 
 tance east. A depth of 360 feet is attained and "sinking" has lately been resumed. 
 When owned by Donald, Shaw & Co., in 1871-2-3 it paid handsomely. Native sil- 
 ver was found in large quantities, and enormous assays were obtained. In three 
 years, 340 tons of ore yielded at the rate of $200 per ton and over, and some ore 
 sold for over $1,000. L. M. Bates bought the mine in 1874, for $55,000 and other 
 parties purchased the Sherman. The yield was afterwards from two to six tons 
 daily. Bates built the North Boulder silver mill. 
 
 Less than a year ago both mines and the mill were purchasad by Judge Wm. 
 Fullertcn, the eminent New York counsellor, and A. G. Dunn, of the mercantile 
 agency of that city. M. A. Smith, who was also interested and had previously 
 managed the property, was general agent. The two mines had produced up to that 
 time, over $250,000, the No Name being entitled to the largest half. The ore body 
 had been mostly exhausted, and more development was required to obtain ore in 
 desirable quantities. The mill was kept at work from December until July, most 
 of the time on only one of the two furnaces. About half of its supply came from these 
 mines. But poor ground had been reached, and so the mill was shut down to await 
 an accumulation of ore. This will probably be obtained so as to resume operations 
 at the mill this winter. H. Minkler, is now superintendant, and J.J. Ellingham 
 has charge of the mines, where forty men are employed. 
 
 An Ingersol steam drill and air compressor of large size have been employed in 
 the mine for months, and are found to save largely and to accomplish nearly twice 
 the work of hand drdls. The cost was $4,200. A forty-horse power engine costing 
 $1500 is stationed in the large shaft and ore house of the No Name. A crosscut has 
 been driven from the lower level a distance of thirty feet, to intersect the Sherman 
 so that the hoisting for both mines can be done from one shaft. The entire property 
 can be made a profitable one. 
 
 Three miles distant, in the valley of the North Boulder, the company have a well 
 timbered mill site, and 1,600 acres of land. Here is the silver mill, 150 feet in 
 length by fifty in breadth, and gaining two stories in height by the slope of the hill. 
 The process is chlorination and lixiviation. 
 
 This mode of treatment has been very successful in Mexico and also at this mill 
 It is claimed to be cheaper than most others and the null need cost originally but 
 $25,000. The methodised at this mill is something as follows : 
 
 On the arrival of the ore at the mill the proper mixtures from different lodes are 
 made. Crushing by Dodge crushers and Holthoff pulverizers, and drying follows. 
 The pulverized ore passes through a revolving 40 mesh screen into the reverbatory 
 furnaces — each (>( j]/,i«h± daily capacity — at the same time that 6 to 9 percent of salt 
 unites therewith. The ore is kept in motion while in the furnaces, and one third 
 discharged every hour. It should be more carefully chlorodizcd il possible, than 
 for treatment with quicksilver. When thus prepared the ore is placed in large tubs 
 or vats with false bottoms. The ore is then leached or lixiviated for a few hours 
 to dissolve and carry off the soluble salt of the base metals. The salts of silver no 1
 
 $88 COLORADO. 
 
 being soluble in water are n<>t affected by this p as. Ifter the base metals are 
 
 thus eliminated, the ore is lea< bed with a solution of hyposulphite of soda, in which 
 the silvei is soluble, This lixiviation takes from seven to ten liours or even more, 
 
 ding to the richness of die ore and the strength of the solution, This solution 
 passes to other vats below li is transparent, and scan elj distinguished lrom com 
 mon water, except bj its taste. The silver thus obtained in solution is precipitated 
 bj a polysulphide ol lime, which is prepared byboiling sulphur and lime, propor- 
 tioned according to metal* under treatment. \ proportion of the sulphur and lime 
 solution is then added to the hyposulphite of SOda solution when the silver is ;it 
 
 precipitated as a black powder, which is sulphide of silver, S. A.G. After 
 straining, this ;ulphide is roasted in a reverbatory furnace to expel the sulphur, 
 during which process it granulates, assuming much the appearance of blasting 
 powder. In this condition it will assay from live to six hundred tine. The clear 
 liquid is siphoned off into a reservoir for further use, while the silver is Altered into 
 canvass bags, dried, roasted and melted into bars, about goo line and worth Ji.ooo 
 
 i less. 
 \ force of ten men to the furnace is required. The average cost of treatment is 
 $13 per ton, although custom ores are of course purchased allowing for the usual 
 charge. Ninety-five per cent of the assay value is claimed to be saved. About 
 £50,000 worth of bullion was exported during each of the periods of active operation. 
 R. Cash and brother have had charge of the mill from its completion. They manu- 
 facture the precipitate for throwing down the silver, from sulphur and Boulder county 
 lime, [t is claimed that a great saving is effei ted over pan and barrel amalgamation, 
 one of the main items being the saving of the wear and tear of machinery. 
 
 The Seven-Thirty has produced about $14,000 altogether. Ore from $60 to $500 
 per ton. Opened by levels, and has a crevice two feet wide, easily worked. The 
 Ten-Forty, has been worked at intervals. Near by are the Peabody, Amazon, 
 Great Republic. Morning Star, Belcher and Magnolia. 
 
 The Native Silver has one of the richest veins in the camp. Deep shaft 286 feet, 
 with several levels, one of them 220 feet long. The vein varies from 6 to 18 inches, 
 broken at intervals by barren ground. Yield from $60 to $250. Some rich pockets 
 are found. Much of the ore is of low grade. Nearly all of the ore between the 
 levels is left standing awaiting the completion of the mill. This property was pur- 
 chased in 1873 by ex-Governor Curtin of Pensylvania, ex-Senator Cattell and 
 brother of New Jersey, and others, forming the Mining Company of New Jersey. 
 I hej have built a mill a hundred yards south oi the leading street of Caribou, at an 
 outlay of £50,000, which is expected to begin work before the close of the year. It 
 
 has the Hunt-Douglas Stewart process. It is -aid this mill will be able to handle 
 
 15 tons of ore daily. It is supplied with wat^l foi power, by means of a ditch con- 
 structed from the park north of Caribou hill. 
 
 Vbove the t laribou lode are the < Intario and Arizona, both considerably developed 
 
 and of good si,'c. 
 
 Further west is the Leroj , owned bj fohn Woodbury, and a ^ ei y promising vein, 
 from 6 to eight inches wide and contained in a foui ol 5»3 3 ° 
 63 and still richer mineral is shown in the shaft. 
 The Brian Barou, has a vein from 6 to 18 inches wide Two elasnei o( on tain 
 
 - of si!\cr per lotl

 
 COLORADO. 389 
 
 The Grand View mine is one ol the valuable lodes of the hill, and has paid largely 
 at times. A rich pocket was found near the surface. Nearly §500 per ton were 
 obtained from small quantities of ore and 140 tons produced at the rate of $75. The 
 walls are well defined and the crevice large. The shaft is 130 feet deep. 
 
 The Mount Vernon lode owned by Breed and Good, is a very large vein with 
 about 10 feet of mineral bearing rock, Vield, $5° to $100 per ton during the past 
 season. 
 
 Among the northeast and southwest veins, and near the No Name, are the 
 Spencer, Columbia and Missouri Valley, all carrying more or less rich ore, and 
 some of a low grade. The first has a twelve inch vein that yields from $50 to J500 
 per ton. The last named lode carries from 6 to 10 inches, and occasionally 2 feet of 
 ore worth from $40 to $150 per ton. Both are paying well. 
 
 Among other promising properties are the Silver Point, Brick Pomeroy, North- 
 western, Great Western, Centennial, Amanda and Watson ; all more or less devel- 
 oped and giving evidence of worth. The First National, Boulder County and 
 Trojan are located near Cardinal, and contain gold and silver. 
 
 Between the two main streets of Caribou is the Potosi lode and shaft house, sup- 
 plied with steam hoisting works. There are two shafts 125 and seventy feet re- 
 spectively. The ore vein is large and usually of fair grade, and capable of yielding 
 a profit as soon as well developed. A company has recently operated the property 
 with W. B. Jenness as superintendent. The crevice is from 7 to 12 feet wide, with 
 from 12 to 20 inches of ore. Assays $60 to $169, insuring a profit over all expenses. 
 Like other mines in this district much of the ore needs dressing. Concentration 
 works should be established, when the chances for the miner would be much better. 
 
 The Idaho was discovered in 1870 and paid from the "grass roots" down for a 
 long distance. Its ore once gave a higher average value than any other in the 
 district. Over 54,000 was cleared in sinking the first 30 feet, and within one month 
 after the lode was found. Thirty-three tons yielded $10,900. Then a sale was 
 waited for. It has been worked at intervals since. The owners have not been able 
 to agree in regard to its management. A few thousands of dollars have been 
 turned out from this mine on several occasions since 1870. The main shaft is 163 
 feet deep with a number of levels. A large shaft house, with powerful hoisting 
 works, covers the shaft. There is said to be a large quantity of ore standing in the 
 mine. Like other valuable mines on Idaho hill such as the Monitor, much trouble 
 is experienced in the early part of summer from water. A tunnel designed to cut 
 the Idaho 350 feet deep, has been driven 400 feet. 
 
 The Fourth of July lode is an immense ore channel situated several miles west of 
 Caribou and near Arapahoe Peak. This is from 50 to 100 feet wide, and has been 
 traced and preempted for its entire course of three miles. It crosses the snowy 
 range. This lode contains some very rich seams of ore but requires capital to open 
 it into condition for advantageous mining. Two tunnels are being driven towards 
 it from the headwaters of the Boulder. 
 
 The town of Caribou is well built, and is very prettily located in a valley shel- 
 tered by well timbered hills. To the east the mountains open in the direction of 
 Boulder canon so as to permit of a charming view of the foot hills and great 
 plains. A revival of business is expected when the Caribou, No Name, Native 
 Silver, and other companies get fairly under way again.
 
 390 COLORADO. 
 
 Caribou is to miles I i Central, is from Bouldei and 60 from Denvei \\ . iS. I,. 
 
 Smith's stages afford communication with the former places, whence Denvei is 
 1. .,, Ued bj rail. 
 
 IK.- Consolidated Caribou Bell Mining Company . organi ti d with .1 hall million 
 
 1 capital, is driving a tunnel from the gulch, two miles below Caribou, under the 
 
 mountain towards Cardinal. I'he tunnel is 7 feel high by 7 feel wide, is substantially 
 
 constructed and is al read] 120 feel long. Sixteen men are employed and « 01k goes 
 
 on night . uul day. An adtam'c <>i : ■ • i i ,- i. > i pei month was made bj hand drills. 
 
 Recently, W I's patent steam drill and air compressoi has been substituted, and 
 
 notwithstanding the ini reased hardnessof the roi k the work is now progressing at 
 
 the rate of 75 to [OO feel per month. It is thought th<- Moulder county and Trojan 
 lodes will be cut within nine months. Several promising veins have already been 
 
 passed, and beside blind lodes thai may be discovered, twenty-six lodes owned 
 
 by the company will lie intersected at depths of from 70 to 1,000 feet. At the mouth 
 of the tunnel is a fifteen-horse power engine, and not far distant is a line mill site. 
 \V. H. J. Nichols, is president of the Company and J. T. Huntington, secretary. 
 
 All Colorado mines operated on a large scale, which have been opened to depths 
 of over 100 or 200 feet, are worked clay and night. Different squads of men relieve 
 one another. In some mines the force of men is worked twelve hours, in others 
 ten, and in others eight, three reliefs in twenty-four hours being required for the 
 latter system. Mills and smelting and reducing works are also operated day and 
 night, usually with twelve hour " shifts.'' 
 
 The Washington Avenue mine is situated near North Boulder creek and foe 
 miles from Nederland. Albert Myles operates this with a force of twenty-eight 
 men. It is a very large vein, but most of its contents are of low grade ; not so low 
 however but that the property is very valuable, for the deposits are of great ex- 
 tent. With a mill of its own, it could be operated very profitably. Some of the 
 ore yields from jtioo to $.'->:. per ton. It is claimed that the ore "insight" in this 
 mine will produce £150,000. 
 
 The Weare brothers are building a twenty-live stamp mill two miles above Ned- 
 erland to work the ores from their gold lodes, the First National, Vulture, Lexington 
 and Melvina, and from any other mines nearby. 
 
 The mill at Nederland cost #too,ooo. Much of the outlay was unnecessary. 
 Works of equal capacity can now be built and furnished for about £50,000. 
 
 The Mining Review gives the following statement of the average contents of the 
 ores of Caribou district : 
 
 Silver, percent 25 or 70 oz per ton 
 
 Cold, percent 000,97 or V i 02 per ton 
 
 Lead, per cent 6. 
 
 Copper, per cent 12. 
 
 Arsenic and Antimony, per cent 4. 
 
 Iron, per cent 7. 
 
 Quartz, percent 61. 
 
 Sulphur 9. 
 
 100. 
 
 This is for ail silver lodes opened, many of which are richer in silver than the 
 amount given above while others are poorer. 
 
 The figures of mill returns for these mines are what are called the common yield. 
 Small lots have been sold from a number of mines, for five, and even ten hundred 
 dollars and over per ton. Specimen assays have been obtained, as among Ceorge- 
 town mines, that returned at the rate of from one to twenty thousand dolUrs per ton 
 but th.u 1 lass "I ore can nol be obtained in any considerable quantities.
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 BOULDER COUNTY— TELLURIUM LAND— GOLD DISTRICTS. 
 BULLION PROUCT— SMELTING WORKS. 
 
 Boulder City— The Telluride Discoveries — Rich Strikes— 
 The luck of Gold Hunters— The American, Melvina, 
 Cold Spring, John Jay, and Smuggler— Silver threads 
 among the Gold— Fortunes in a single season— Sun- 
 shine, Sugar Loaf, Gold Hill, and Ward, 
 
 After the earlier years of gulch and of surface lode mining in Boul- 
 der Countv, but little bullion was produced until the commencement of 
 of silver mining in 1870. Probably $750,000 would cover the total yield 
 up to that year. The quantity of gold obtained was small up to 1875, 
 when the tellurium mines began to get extensively developed. Still 
 there was a preceptible increase in the two preceding years. The fol- 
 lowing estimates and figures cannot be far out of the way. The state- 
 ments for 1873-4 are from Van Wagenan for Raymond's annual 
 report. That for 1875 was furnished by the Boulder News: 
 
 Prior to 1870, $75°,°°o 
 
 1870, 130,000 
 
 1871, '. 2.5o,ooo 
 
 1872, 300,000 
 
 1873, 39°i° 00 
 
 1874, 586,522 
 
 1875, 767,000 
 
 Total, !J3.i73,522. 
 
 During the year 1876 the silver yield has greatly decreased, owing 
 to the shutting down of the Caribou and the lack of rich ores in some 
 other mines. On the other hand the gold product has increased largely 
 from the wonderful yield of some of the new as well as older tellurium 
 discoveries. But little data are obtainable regarding the bullion yield 
 of this county. There arc several Hour mills in this vicinity supplied 
 with work from the grain fields of the adjacent valleys.
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 Boyd's smelting works are located al Boulder, marl In- mouth ol the 
 cafion. The) were erected two years ago bul did no) do much work 
 until las) May. Since July the) have been running almos) constantly, 
 drawing their supplies mainly from tellurides, although gold, silver and 
 copper bearing ores are handled. About fifteen tons ol ore are smel- 
 ted every twent) foui hours and satisfactory results are attained on ores 
 yielding from fift) dollars up to thousands. As die telluride ores ran 
 not average much below .sioo per ton in value the bullion produc) ol 
 the works mus. be over $1000 per diem. This would indicate a yield ol 
 $80,000 or $90,000 for the three months ending November m. 1876, 
 principall) of gold. The system employed at these works is smelting 
 with lead — differing from other lead smelting works, and covered b) a 
 patent of Mr. Boyd, who operates the concern in person. < >res are 
 
 bought and paid for as soon as the assays are taken to determine then 
 value. Silver and gold ores are rnasted in two cylinders, one for oxi 
 dation and the other for decomposing the sulphur. They are then 
 smelted in a blast furnace. Telluride ores are not roasted but goto the 
 smelter at once. What comes from the smeller is divided into '• lead 
 riches" and "slag," the latter is thrown away, while the former is cu- 
 pelled in a furnace, where the gold and silver are separated from the 
 lead and into bars. The bullion is sent east and the lead is retained to 
 be used over again in the smelter. The ores treated vary in value 
 from fifty dollars to hundreds and even thousands. 
 
 The Boston and Colorado works have established an agency in 
 Boulder. It consists of sampling, assaying .and ore buying depart 
 ments, located in a large brick structure erected for the purpose. 
 
 Several mills and works have been built in the telluride camps but 
 outside of one or two concentrating mills no successful work has been 
 dom . Large portions of the telluride ores are sent by rail to he smel 
 led at Black Hawk, Golden or Omaha. 
 
 The rich "pay" of the Melvinais comprised in a soft "gangue," and 
 is sacked as it is picked from the crevice or vein. It is too precious to 
 
 be loosely shovelled about and too soft tor blasting. The enclosing 
 walls are hard. 
 
 Boulder is located on the plain or valley at the mouth of Boulder 
 canon, being built principally on the right bank of the stream. Il is 
 the countv seat and main business centre of Boulder county. Its sur-
 
 COLORADO. 393 
 
 roundings are attractive and its location advantageous for trade and 
 travel. To the east and north is the beautiful! valley of Boulder creek 
 thickly studded with well cultivated farms. To the west the bluffs and 
 foot-hills, half encircle the place, with Left Hand and Sunshine val- 
 leys or ravines opening to the mines. Grander than all, the canon of 
 the Boulder forms a natural passage way through mountains of granite 
 to the mines of Caribou. Sugar Loaf and Gold Hill. On every hands 
 scenery, grand and magnificent greets the eye of the traveler. Boul- 
 der has attained its present dimensions and state of prosperity chiefly 
 within the past three years, or since the development of the surround- 
 ing mining districts. This town being the natural outlet for the lands 
 of tellurium and silver, its trade and growth has kept pace with theirs. 
 The many attractions of the place, and of neighboring points in the 
 mountains secure the presence of large numbers of tourists every sum- 
 mer. The business houses are large and substantial, and Boulder is 
 considered the liveliest town in Colorado, Georgetown perhaps excepted. 
 Boulder is connected with the city of Denver by two lines of railway, 
 the Colorado Central and the Moulder Valley, affording direct commu- 
 nication with ali important parts of the country, while Smith's stages 
 furnish the necessary mountain transportation. There are two weekly 
 newspapers, several churches and hotels and the usual school building, 
 erected at a cost of 515,000. Irrigation ditches convey water through 
 the public streets, and efficient water works afford protection against 
 lire. The State University is located here. It possesses imposing ami 
 substantial buildings, whose cost under ordinary circumstances would 
 have exceeded $100,000. Annual fairs are held here in the interest of 
 the agricultural, stock growing and various industrial interests. The 
 town has increased in population from three hundred and forty-three 
 in 1870, to nearly three thousand in 1876. A quarter of a million 
 dollars were expended in new buildings in 1875, and an equal amount 
 during the present year. 
 
 Longmont is a prosperous town, located in the beautiful valley of 
 the Saint Vrain,on the plains some distance from the foot hills and in the 
 northeastern portion of Boulder county. It includes what was formerly 
 the old village of Burlington. It is connected by the Colorado Central 
 Railway with Boulder. 
 
 The tellurium discoveries have given Boulder count) wonderful pro-
 
 }94 COLORADO. 
 
 gress and prosperity, .mil have doubled the bullion product of thai sec 
 lion. There was something alluring in mining where a fev pounds oi 
 ore would pa) the finder handsome wages. Ii was something entirely 
 oul of the usual order of things. Pieces of ruck that had no appear 
 ance of containing the precious metals, were found t<> be so rich that 
 roasting on the top of a common stove would bring out the pure gold 
 in bubbles and nuggets. The remarkable products obtained from some 
 of these telluride ores carried no little excitement among old gold and 
 silver prospet ors, and caused the rapid development of a previously 
 unproductive section. 
 
 The Tellurium belt of Boulder county, as far as discoveries show, 
 has a length of about twenty miles, and a width of about five miles. 
 Its most northern district is that around the new mines of Ballarat. 
 and on the south, it crosses Moulder creek and extends into the vicinity 
 of Caii's ranch. Tellurium is a metal that is found in but three locali- 
 ties outside of Colorado, and until recently its existence was unknown 
 in this region. It possesses no intrinsic value but combines with gold 
 and silver. The amount of the precious metals contained in telluride 
 ores causes them to be much sought after by the prospector. 
 
 lielts of gold ami silver extend through portions of the tellurium 
 region. The great ' Hoosier silver lode and the U. S. Bank are sur- 
 rounded by gold bearing veins only. The former has seven feet of ore 
 of an average value of $40, and $1,000 represents the value of the 
 lust ton of ore milled. In and between Ward and Sugar Loaf dis- 
 tricts are scores of gold and silver bearing veins. 
 
 The Denver Mining Revkiu recently published in tabular form the 
 various combinations of tellurium, as given below.
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 395 
 
 "Tellurium is a metal. When pure it i> tin-white in color, ver) 
 brittle, about as easily scratched as soapstone, and melts at about the 
 same temperature as lead, namely, 617 . It is very rare to fined the 
 native or pure metal." 
 
 NAME 
 
 COMPOSITION, PER CENT 
 
 APPEARANCE AND 
 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES 
 
 Tetradymite Tellurium 49, bismuth 52 Coior, pale steel gray, and easily 
 
 [Telluride of Bis- scratched by knife, but not by 
 
 muth] nail— metallic lustre leaves a 
 
 mark on paper. 
 
 Altaite Tellurium 38, lead 62 
 
 [Telluride of lead] 
 
 Sylvanite Tellurium 56, gold 28, 
 
 [Telluride of gold silver 16. 
 
 and silver] 
 
 Hessite Tellurium 37, silver 1 
 
 [Telluride of silver] 
 
 Color, tin-white easily scratched 
 by knife, but not by nail, tarn- 
 ishes yellow. Usually massive 
 structure - will cut smoothly. 
 
 Color, pure steel-gray, to silver- 
 white, sometimes brass-yellow, 
 can be almost scratched by nail, 
 metallic lustre. Fracture uneven 
 
 Color between lead and steel-gray, 
 easily scratched by knife, me- 
 tallic lustre. Even fracture. Will 
 cut smoothly. 
 
 Petzite Tellurium 35, silver 46, Color steel-gray to iron-black, 
 
 [Telluride of gold gold 18. brittle, easily scratched by knife 
 
 and silver J 
 
 N'aggagite Tellurium 32, sulphur 3, Color blackish lead-gray, cuts 
 
 [Black tellurium] lead 54, gold 9, silver smoothly with knife. Metallic 
 
 0.5, copper 1.3. lustre. 
 
 Calaverite Tellurium 55, gold 45. Color, bronze-yellow, brittle, mas- 
 
 [Telluride of gold] sive structure. Uneven fracture 
 
 Tellurides are so different in appearance from the ordinary gold and 
 silver ores that prospectors had passed over these lodes for years, never 
 dreaming of the hidden wealth they contained. Miners had never 
 seen ores of this description. The Red Cloud gold mine, on Gold 
 Hill, discovered in May 1872, was found to contain mineral that could 
 not be made to produce well in stamp mills but which would assaj 
 enormously. It attracted the attention of Schirmer and Davis, of the 
 Denver Mint, and of J. Alden Smith. Specimens were sent, in 1873, 
 to Dr. F. A. Genth, a professor of the University of Pennsylvania, for 
 analysis. lie pronounced it tellurium ore, and thai this was the third
 
 396 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 localit) containing il in the known world. So rare was the mineral 
 that he sent to Smith for more specimens. The Red Cloud was then 
 mined vigorously. Between $50,000 and $100,000 came from if in 
 two years, 01 before the deposits gave out. Like other tellurium veins 
 the ore assayed from > 100 n> Suhvhui. A lew -hundred pounds were 
 obtained that sold at the rate of thousands of dollars, but mosl of the 
 ore ran down in the hundreds. Ii was the same here as in later tellu 
 rium discoveries, the "pay vein" was only from one or two inchei 
 wide. Iln- n k required so much sorting thai as man) men wen- re 
 quired to "hand dress" it as to work down in the mine. The mine 
 is over four .hundred feet deep. Other discoveries followed. The 
 Cold Spring, is close l>\ the Red Cloud, lias been worked for nearh 
 three years by its owner, Truman Whitcomb. He states that it has 
 yielded altogether over 550,000 with good profits. The product oi 
 last year w as about $1 5,ooo. < >ne ton of ore selected is said to be worth 
 Sio.ooo. But Whitcomb has been mainly operating the mine todevel- 
 ope it. What has been obtained came simply from shafts and levels. 
 There may be a quarter of a million in the ore left standing above the 
 lower workings. The shaft is three hundred feet deep and the vein 
 has been very continuous. The shaft house was destroyed by fire last 
 summer, but a new one has been built. The Slide lode on the northern 
 slope of Gold Hill is another very rich tellurium vein. It pays largely. 
 The Register, Columbia and Yankee Boy, owned by E. L. Salisbury, 
 give large assays. ( In the same hill are the Cash, the Victoria and a 
 great vein on which are the Horsfal and Golden Crown. The Horsfal 
 is a gold lode and produced over .£200,000 in 1860-1-2, the ore being 
 crushed in a stamp mill. 
 
 The Golden Crown, adjoining the Horsfal is owned and mined by 
 a company of the same name, organized January 26th, 1876 on that 
 mine, and the White Cloud, Keystone No. 2, Saint Joe, South Star, 
 Todd and Ni Wot, all in the same locality. The capital stock is 
 5300,000 divided in 30,000 shares of 5io each; 575,000 working cap- 
 ital set aside; general "Dice at Denver, where the President; D. F, 
 Brown, and the Secretary, E. W. fierce, reside. The Golden Crown 
 and Saint Joe mines are producing ore in fair quantities. The first 
 class sells at smelting works for Sl.ooo and the second class for $150 
 mure or less. The property is already proving very remunerative, and
 
 COLORADO. 397 
 
 all of it is being developed. From Left Hand Gulch the Corning Tun- 
 nel has been driven into Gold Hill for a distance of over seven hun- 
 dred feet. 
 
 The most prominent of the tellurium districts is Sunshine. This is 
 most favorably located among the foot hills, and only six miles from 
 Boulder and is 6,500 feet and less above sea level. Here are hundreds 
 of tellurium lodes, many of them extremely rich. The first discover- 
 ies were made by D. C. Patterson, a prospector of twenty years expe- 
 rience in the far western territories. While hunting for deer early in 
 1874 he came uipon an outcropping ledge that attracted his attention. 
 He had some of the blossom rock assayed. It proved to be tellurium 
 ore. It was the first found outside of Gold Hill, and created a rush of 
 miners from all sections. Patterson recorded his lode as the Sunshine. 
 The discoveries it led to have thrown many a ray of sunshine over the 
 previously dark and clouded path* of prospectors and miners. A town 
 sprang up on the green slopes and valleys of the grove covered hills. 
 The Charcoal, Miami, Osceola, Dead Medicine, American and Bull o' 
 the Woods were discovered, and began to show seams of ore that as 
 sayed way up in the thousands. Hundreds of people flocked to the 
 place, and scores of frame and log buildings went up as if by magic, 
 and soon well built streets, stores, hotels and a church, school and 
 newspaper might be seen where one year before stood the lone cabin ot 
 the pioneer ranchman. A newspaper correspondent gives the follow- 
 ing pen picture of 'Sunshine and its surroundings: 
 
 "It is built among the tall pines, which afford it shelter from the 
 wintry Masts and shade from the summer suns. They delight, in the 
 [tine day sun. the heart of the pleasure seeker, who cools his brow in 
 the shade of matted houghs, and in all seasons of the year they form a 
 scene of beauty. Here the mountain sides are of a gradual slope, and 
 instead of the tiresome climbing on foot, which is so common among 
 our mines, the ascent to the most prominent point, can he made in a 
 conveyance of ordinars structure. The mountain range, west ol Cari- 
 bou, makes a plain and pleasant back-ground, with its lolly peaks, 
 whose tops are in the clouds, enwrapped socosil) in the while mantles 
 ,,i snow that they care not to throw off save a short time each year. 
 Look to the eastward, especially at sunrise, and before you lies one of 
 the grandest views youreyes ever feasted upon- The plain spreads oul
 
 Jq8 COLORADO. 
 
 from beneath your Feel as il were, and clustered <>n its bosom arc 
 scores of crystal lakes of so many different sizes of structure, glittering 
 in the morning sun, or lying quietly under the haze of midday, a true 
 picture of contentment. Seat the artist on a point near the (ilendale 
 oi ( .land View mines, and if he appreciates truly the works of nature, 
 the hidden village of Sunshine, with its many contrasts in scenery 
 from the same point, will to him stand a successful rival in l.eauty of 
 tiny spot in the world. The mines here are many, the miners all mil- 
 lionaires. I lie wealthiest lot of people on the face of the earth are 
 the people of this mining district." 
 
 Much difficulty is experienced in the reduction of telluride ore. 
 At first the only works that handled them were those at Black 
 Hawk, Golden and Omaha. The ores are somewhat deceptive 
 in appearance to the uninitiated. Progress was somewhat slow 
 and many devoted themselves more to the business of selling than 
 io mining their properties. Still many proved very lucrative. Of these 
 the American. Grand View, Phil Sheridan and White Crow were e\ 
 amples. The Grand View was sold to Ohio parties in 1875 for about 
 >50,000. They found the pay streak exhausted, hut by Sinking the 
 shaft obtained better pay than ever, and continued to do so to depths of 
 . iver two hundred feet. 
 
 The American has been the most productive lode yet discovered of 
 the telluride variety. It was discovered in May, i874,and some months 
 afterwards was purchased by Hiram Hitchcock, an eastern capitalist. 
 It had been paying well, but became wonderfully rich as depth was at- 
 tained. It is said to have yielded a sum equal to the purchase money 
 IS17.OOO) in one or two months with only a dozen miners employed- 
 The vein is very uniform and is about two feet thick, of which seven 
 or eight inches and sometimes twelve constitutes the main pay streak. 
 Regular shipments of ore have been made, the very valuable lots going 
 to Omaha. The mine, which is now over two hundred and twenty feet 
 deep, has never ceased to be profitable. Pieces of ore have assayed all 
 the way from one to one hundred thousand dollars, often returning sev- 
 eral dollars per pound. Five tons were sold to the Omaha Smelting 
 Works for ,^5,500 per ton. This I . >t had been obtained by selecting the 
 rii her portions ol the on- for a long period of time. Large quantities 
 e yielded hundreds of dollars per ton. J. Alden Smith, Territorial
 
 Colorado. 399 
 
 Geologist, has superintended the mine and its entire business ever since 
 the purchase by Hitchcock. A shaft house with steam hoisting works, 
 railway and other well arranged conveniences cover the shaft. The 
 mine is opened in first-class shape with levels running either way from 
 the shaft. The lowest level is two hundred and twenty feet deep. 
 The entire yield of the mine (actual time of work about twenty 
 months) has been over §135,000. It is in condition to yield more 
 largely than ever. There is not far from $20,000 worth of ore on 
 hand. The ore is sorted in three classes. The very rich portions con- 
 stitute about one ton in thirty of the ore; the second class, one ton in 
 five of the vein material. There are twenty-eight names on the pay 
 roll of the mine. Work is conducted in three reliefs or shifts, eight 
 men working eight hours on each. Monthly pay roll and expenses ex- 
 ceed S3,ooo. When stoping is done and large quantities of ore are 
 raised, two ore sorters are required on the surface to three miners be- 
 low. The ore is moved through the levels on cars, as in all well opened 
 mines. 
 
 Sometimes the width between walls has been from five to fifteen 
 feet, with ore seams of various thickness passing through it. The ore 
 is in a hard flinty bluish quartz-gangue rock, much like that in Gilpin 
 county. There is a very large amount of ore left standing in the lev- 
 els. Had this been removed, the receipts would have been far greater 
 It is claimed by some to be the richest mine in the country. The 
 Osceola has shown wire and free gold as well as telluride ore carrying 
 gold and silver. The latter has assayed from $500 to over $300,000, 
 the best being a rare specimen. Many tons of the first named value 
 have been sold. 
 
 The Nil Desperandum is a mine of good repute and is producing 
 M>nie very high grade mineral. 
 
 Salina district borders on Four Mile creek and Gold Run. Here 
 the towns of Salina and Camp Tellurium have maintained a healthy 
 growth. Several mills are built and others partially completed. The 
 latest, is one erected by an Atchison company, which is expected to 
 begin operations in November 1876. 
 
 The richest and mo>t famous mine in this locality is the Melvina, 
 located on Melvina hill, between Gold Run and Four Mile. Ii i- 
 owned by Neikirk, Bailey, Kapler and two others, being divided
 
 400 COLORADO. 
 
 into eighl shares li was discovered in Jul} 1875, '" •'' l ' : '" 1 ''"' m ' s ' 
 work was done upon it then. The first month gave a yield of about 
 $8,600, .'i winch nearl) $8,000 was profit. It has been worked steat) 
 ily, and has given the largest proportionate profit of any mine of which 
 there 1- an) record the wide world over. The yield of February last, 
 wbs (15,800 and the expenses about $800. In nearly every monthly 
 shipment, lots of ore haw been sold to the amount of five hundred 
 pounds thai yielded at the rate oi £4,000 to $14,000 and oyer, per ton! 
 Altogether the mine produced up to < tetober 1, 1876, ore that sold at the 
 smelting works for $84,600 — this Tor a period of fifteen months, with 
 a force of eight men. < mly three men are employed beside the live pro- 
 prietors. The average yield of all the ore sold has been 28 cts per 
 pound,oi £560 and a fraction, per ton! There were 151 tons and 70 
 pounds. Much of the ore assays thousands of dollars per ton, The 
 rich pay streak is soft material and about eight inches thick. It is 
 -o rich that a man can carry off many dollars worth of it in his pockets. 
 t rreat care is taken to save all portions of this mineral as it is too pre- 
 , ious to lose. The value varies greatly at different depths, having been 
 richest near the fifty and two hundred foot levels. The mine is now 
 over two hundred feet dee]), and is one of the wonders even of this 
 
 I of marvelous veins and golden pockets. The yield of October is 
 said to have been better than any previous month and to have approached 
 >20.ooo. Only two of the present owners were the original disCOA 
 erers. Henry Neikirk obtained an interest before it was known to be 
 very valuable, in return for developing it. Thus it is to a great extent 
 with mines and mining in Colorado. \o one can tell what hidden 
 wealth these gold, silver or telluride wins contain until they are devel- 
 1 iped. 
 
 The Salina < lonsolidated Mining < lompany, located at Salina, are the 
 owners of the Salina, Kansas, Leora, Moonshine and C. T. II. lodes, two 
 of which cross the celebrated Melvina. The Kansas is a mother vein 
 
 reat width, mostly silver — The other- are rich in sylvanite. These 
 mines were the lust taken up in this vicinity by the founder ol the town 
 lina, [udge (). I'. Hamilton, deputy United States Surveyor. The) 
 proved to !>•■ among the most valuable in the district. 
 
 Peter Winne is president ol the companj and 1-'.. W. Pierce, secre 
 botl ol Den ei The stockholders intend to push the develop
 
 COLORADO. 40I 
 
 ments so that the value of the stock will be largely increased. One 
 fourth of the stock is set aside for workiug capital, none of which has 
 been needed up to the present time. 
 
 South and west is the district of Sugar Loaf, named after a mountain 
 whose peculiar shape gave it that appellation. The Lindley is the 
 great vein here, and is generally considered the mother vein of this sec- 
 tion and perhaps of the county. It can be traced by its outcroppings 
 for miles away. It stands up from the mountain, over which it extends 
 like a stone wall. This wall is eleven feet wide and often forty feet in 
 heighth. Even after the presence of silver was known, little work was 
 done upon it. The prospectors either had no money to expend or 
 thought it would require more than could be obtained to develop it. 
 In 1870, however, the Blake brothers with commendable faith and 
 courage, began to "work it" and continued so to do whenever means 
 would allow,- down to the past season. Since then it has proved itself 
 all that they had hoped for. At a depth of 1 10 feet in the main 
 shaft, the lode is 28 feet wide and this is mainly composed of ore whose 
 average assay is S90 per ton ! There can be little doubt that it will 
 soon rank among the leading bullion producers of the country. These 
 gentlemen own 3,000 feet. Levels run in at the base of the mountain 
 would give a depth of over 1,200 feet. In addition to the above, a 
 smaller portion of the lode is owned by M. R. Comfort and John Dun- 
 can. Very high assays, showing a large preponderence of gold, have 
 been obtained. The great distance to reduction works has been one 
 cause of the slow development. 
 
 The Blake Brothers also own the Crown Point which joins the 
 Lindley, and are working it by means of a tunnel, driven through only 
 half of the vein, which is twelve feet wide. Here are six feet of solid 
 mineral. No better showing has been made than this for the amount 
 of work done. The same parties own the Ogallalah mine, which they 
 have opened in a very systematic maimer. This is developed by a 
 tunnel driven in on the vein for a distance of over three hundred and 
 twenty feet. The shafts and levels already opened give a large amount 
 of ore in reserve ready for Stoping- The vein for a long distance has 
 a width of two feet. Large quantities of ore have been sold at from 
 $216 to $342 per ton. The mine is the best developed in the distric 
 aiul its production highly recommends this locality. 
 
 25
 
 402 COLORADO. 
 
 The Doss mine, one of the older discoveries, has been bought by 
 Mai. Orris Blake, of Denver. Since the purchase the lode has been 
 mined for the firs! time, has plaid from the "grass roots," and at a depth 
 of fifty feel has a fine vein of telluride ore. Governor Rout) and Sen- 
 ator |ohn A. Logan own and operate several mines not far away. 
 
 In Pennsylvania gulch, one mile east of the Washington Avenue 
 mine are some east and west gold lodes, and a number of silver veins 
 having a north and south course. The Weare Brothers & Co., of Lex- 
 ington. Kentucky, have lately invested here, under the name of the 
 Pennsylvania company. One of their purchases, the Dolly Warden, 
 I 1800 feet) is twenty-six feet between walls. A drift is being run on 
 die pay vein which yields on the surface from 4 to 7 ounces per cord. 
 The entire crevice seems to be one bed of quartz. It is rich in copper. 
 The Sacramento yields very rich ore. A shaft will be sunk on the San 
 Francisco, another gold lode. John H. Weare, the superintendent, has 
 a Bolthoft" pulverizer of twelve tons capacity, for treating ores, instead 
 of a stamp mill. 
 
 John IL Pickel & Co. are working the Geneva, the west extension 
 of the Dr'h Varden. A Michigan company recently bought the Web- 
 ster City for $5,000. 
 
 In Sunbeam gulch are the Logan and Clipper lodes, owned by 
 Hansbrough & Co. The Lewiston is a very promising lode, carrying 
 tellurium and is four feet wide between walls. Owners: Henderson, 
 Allard & Triplett. 
 
 The Comstock is a mammoth vein, carrying quartz and free gold. 
 Near it is the Pickerel. Both are owned and worked by Gov. Routt. 
 On Four Mile (reek gulch mining has been carried on successfully 
 for many years. 
 
 Ward district is situated high up toward the Snowy Range, near Left 
 Hand creek and not far from Long's Peak. Cold mining has been 
 1 inducted here since i860, but the ores cannot be handled satisfacto- 
 rily in stamp mills. Concentration and other processes have been tried 
 and the former more or less successfully. There are signs of a revival 
 fn.m the long depression that has prevailed there. A Mr. Willard, ol 
 Boston, who was engaged in mining and milling enterprises at James- 
 town, is putting a new process into his old mill which may be ol great 
 benefit to the mines of surrounding districts.
 
 COLORADO. 4O3 
 
 The Columbia is the most important lode of Ward district. It has 
 a verv large vein, often carrying seven feet of solid ore worth from $15 
 to $25 per ton. The Ni Wot and Boston or Baxter properties are 
 opened to depths of four hundred and forty feet with seven feet of 
 fifteen or twenty dollar ore in the bottom, and a twenty-stamp mill on 
 the latter and fifty-stamp mill on the former. Beside other claims the 
 Ni Wot has seven hundred feet on the lode; the French boys seven 
 hundred feet; Halverson & Co. seven hundred feet, and the Boston or 
 Baxter 1500 feet. E. K. Baxter is working the latter. The lode has 
 produced altogether a large quantity of gold. The Ni Wot once owned 
 by a company of the same name is now the property of Tobey, David- 
 son, Smith, Gill and others. H. M. Teller owns 800 feet. 
 
 Among other valuable lodes are the Stoughton and Celestial. 
 
 The Florence on Centennial Hill owned by Triplett and Watson 
 shows an excellent vein. The Bronson and Black Cloud have been 
 producing ore of the first quality. 
 
 Many years ago considerable gold was obtained on James creek, 
 three miles west and north of Gold Hill. Mills and a process were 
 introduced, but after a time work gradually ceased, and the miners 
 sought more promising localities. In 1875, a ^ ew men began to 
 prospect this section for telluride lodes. Among them was A. J. Van- 
 deren, who had once been a wealthy citizen of Central, and Edward 
 Fuller, a verv lucky prospector, who had made half a dozen sales of 
 his discoveries at different times. They found a lode on the 15th day 
 of October, which Vanderen named the John Jay. It paid wonderfully 
 from the '-grass roots." They pre-empted 1,500 feet, as all discoverers 
 are entitled to do by the laws of 1872. Vanderen bought Fuller's 
 interest for $ 10,000, and paid for it in two months from the prospect 
 hole and open cut driven on the vein. The pay vein has been from 
 two to three feet wide in some places. At others no ore was obtainable. 
 There are well defined slickenside walls as far as workings extend — 
 135 feet. The lots of ore sold have varied in value from $110 up to 
 Si.Soo per ton. What is remarkable, is the great size of the vein for 
 a telluride lode, from six in sixteen men have been employed on the 
 lode, and the total yield since its discovery, October 1875, is said to 
 have been ^40,000. As the most of this is profit it makes a pretty good 
 showing for a year's labor.
 
 404 COLORADO. 
 
 The Last Chance, owned by Harker, Man & Co., is near the John 
 [ay, ami like it is making a fortune for its lucky finders. The mine has 
 produced ore selling for from S260 to $650 per ton — with some small 
 lots worth a dollar a pound. 'The total yield has been many thousands 
 of dollars. 
 
 The old Willard mill on James creek is being remodled for the pur- 
 pose of treating telluride ores. Not far above are concentrating works. 
 At Springdale the Ellen, Gladiator and J. Alden Smith lodes are 
 enriching their iwners. The "rich strikes" made here and all over the 
 tellurium belt mostly tall to the lot of those who have experienced 
 every variety of fortune in other localities. Many fresh arrivals from 
 from the states as well as men who have had no experience in mining 
 have also been among the favored ones. The prizes are equally wel- 
 come to all. 
 
 The Von Moltke and ether mines on Left Hand are operated by 
 Weiss, and some Chicago hankers. 
 
 The discovery of the John Jay, just before the first snows of winter 
 started the prospectors into the region still further north. A. G. Rayuor 
 discovered the Cannon lode at Camp Enterprise which he owns and 
 works with II. M. Teller, of Central. 
 
 In April, Charles Mullen, who had experienced all kinds of fortune 
 in mining, and had once represented a southern county in the legisla- 
 ture, began to prospect near the northern limit of tellurium land. In 
 miners' parlance he was " dead broke." He found a lode which he 
 named the Smuggler, and the first assay, and the size of the vein caused 
 him to believe it to be "the biggest thing in the mountains." He has 
 not had reason to change his opinion since. While the ore compares 
 in value with that of the best lodes, the vein is the largest yet found 
 carrying telluride ores. Within a few months from the date of discov- 
 ery, eighteen tons of ore were sold; two tons returning $1,000.00 per 
 1, ,n. and eight tons 5bSO per ton. The average was enormously high. 
 No complete statement has been received of the mine's production, but 
 it is said to be between £30.000 and £50,000. Gen, I.cssig and W. A. 
 Christian owns two fifths of the lode. In October, Mullen sold his 
 three tilths interest together with four neighboring veins to J. M.. Fr.ee- 
 inan, the Greeley banker, for #50,000, and started for the Centennial, 
 well satisfied with the returns of a single season. The Revenue is ilu-
 
 COLORADO. 405 
 
 eastern extension of the Smuggler and is claimed to he very valuably. 
 Other lodes were found near bv and the new town is called Ballarat. 
 It is three miles north of Providence. 
 
 Magnolia is the southern end of the tellurium bell and bordering 
 Boulder creek on the south. It did not claim especial attention until 
 1875. The most famous lodes are the Keystone, Mountain Lion and 
 Dunraven. The. two first named are on the same vein. The Keystone 
 had yielded up to August, $45,000. Ten months before both lodes 
 could have been bought for Si, 000. The Mountain Lion afterwards 
 sold for Si5,ooo. Now a quarter of a million would hardly buy them. 
 Their owners have opened them until they know what they contain. 
 The hoisting for both mines is done by steam power through one shaft. 
 It is estimated that the mines can be made to yield S500 a day, with an 
 outlay of $260 per day. Col. Strong & Co. own the Keystone and P. 
 W. VerPlank of New York, the Mountain Lion. Both veins are well 
 opened by shafts and levels. 
 
 The Magnolia, owned by Fullen, Stewart and Wilson, was the first 
 discovery of the district, and is one of the best properties. The sales 
 of ore range from S300 to $600 per ton, and select lots go still higher. 
 Here are some of the assays; select ore, gold $62.01, silver $17,994.60; 
 second assay, gold $41 silver, S561.60; third assay, gold $20.67, silver 
 S2.60; last mill run, gold $41.34, silver S5 10.90. 
 
 The Little Dorrit, the Downs, Lady Franklin, and others have pro- 
 duced some exceedingly rich ore. 
 
 The Consolidated Tellurium Belt Mining Company is driving a tun- 
 nel from Boulder creek under Magnolia district and mountain, where 
 it owns thirty-two lodes. The starting point is seven and a half miles 
 from the city of Boulder. The stream affords ample water power for 
 a mill, air compressor and drill. A depth of nearly 1400 feet will be 
 attained on the Keystone and Mountain Lion lodes. Work is contin- 
 ued night and day under the superintendence of J. B. Rouilliard. 
 
 The farming district of Boulder returned bountiful harvests in the 
 season of 1876. The wheat crop is said to have returned from twenty 
 to thirty bushels to the acre. The barley crop was quite large. Less 
 ground was sown in oats than usual. 
 
 The coal measures of Boulder county are of great extent and value. 
 The principal collieries are situated on the plains, several miles east of
 
 406 COLORADO. 
 
 the base ol the mountains. The most extensive!) developed and tin- 
 most productive are those at Erie. These have caused the growth of a 
 prosperous village, and the selection of the present route of the Boul 
 der Valley Railway. The most famous coal bank is the Boulder Val 
 
 lev which has yielded over 350,000 tons in six years and a halt". The 
 vein, like others in this county, is horizontal or Hal in direction, and 
 from eight to fourteen feet thick. About one hundred miners are 
 
 usually employed, who receive one dollar per ton for mining the coal. 
 Sales are mai e to railway companies in large quantities at $2 per ton, 
 and $2 $0 to others at the hanks, and at Ss per ton by the car load 
 and at $$ 50 in smaller lots at Black Hawk. The yield this season is 
 about So.ooo tons. The mine has been opened for about three-fourths 
 of a mile. There are several other productive collieries at Erie. The 
 Davidson bank is located on the line of the Colorado Central, near the 
 base of the mountains. The Rob Roy is a very productive bank. The 
 Marshall banks are at a distance from the railway and do not now 
 attempt to compete with those more favorably located. These meas- 
 ures comprise some very valuable veins and were the first and leading 
 coal mines operated in Colorado. Twelve layers have been found. 
 There are beds twelve feet in thickness of excellent lignite, which is 
 the character of nearly all Colorado coal. The yield in fifteen years 
 was 100.000 tons.
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 JEFFKR'SON COUNTY. 
 
 Its Manufacturies and Coal Veins — Golden City— Facts 
 and Figures from the Smelting Companies — Flour and 
 JPaper Mills and Collieries — The Murphy and Ralston 
 Coal banks. 
 
 Jefferson county embraces a long narrow strip of country between 
 Gilpin and Clear Creek counties on the west, an Arapahoe and Doug- 
 las on the east. On the north is Boulder county, and to the south, 
 Park. East of the foot-hills are some of the best lands in the state. 
 The average yield of wheat this season has been from twenty to thirty 
 bushels per acre. The valleys of Clear creek and Ralston, and all of 
 the intervening lands that have been irrigated, are filled with well-to- 
 do farmers, who in a few short years have accumulated what they pos- 
 sess. In the mountains, the valley of Bear creek is studded with 
 farms where plenty and prosperity are the portion of all. 
 
 Golden, the "Lowell of Colorado," is the main town and county 
 >eat of Jefferson. It is fifteen miles from Denver by rail and fourteen 
 by wagon road, and twenty-two miles from Central. It is situated in 
 a valley encircled by hills and mountains — Table mountain shutting 
 out the view towards the plains. The town was laid out in 1859, and 
 was at various periods the capital of the territory, until Denver became 
 the permanent seat of government. Its leading men, such as Loveland, 
 Welch and others for many years strove to make it the railroad centre 
 of the territory. As it is they have secured for it a bright and prosper- 
 ous future. 
 
 Golden is a place of no little importance. It is the headquarters of 
 the Colorado Central broad and narrow guage railway. Here are the 
 repair shops, car manufacturing shops and general offices of the road. 
 There are two extensive smelting establishments to which ore is sent 
 from the various mountain mining districts. There are three flour mills, 
 .-.upplied from the neighboring fanning sections, which turn out annually
 
 40S 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 $200,000 worth of flour. Two coalmines arc worked and five miles 
 distant are the Murphy and Ralston coal banks. There is also a paper 
 mill and works for the manufacture of fire brick. The former, owned 
 bj G. 1». Dickinson, turned out 125 tons of paper this season. 
 
 COLORADO CENTRAL RAILROAD — BEAVER BROOK. 
 
 The State School of Mines is located here of which a description 
 is given in another chapter. Golden has a population of 2,000, two 
 weekly newspapers, the Transcript and Globe, an elegant school house 
 costing $17,500 and attended by 300 pupils, and half a dozen churches. 
 There are two hankers, (F. E. Everett and J. W. Smith) two hotels 
 and a number of first class business houses.
 
 COLORADO. 4O9 
 
 The flour mills each have two run of stone. The Barnes mill, 
 owned by J. Quaintance, is being enlarged and improved so as to 
 increase its capacity, thereby enabling it to turn out 180 sacks of flour 
 daily. Attached to the same building is a new kind of quartz mill, 
 invented by the proprietor. Two stone wheels of four tons weight 
 each, move about in a circular pan partly filled with ore. These do 
 the crushing in lieu of stamps. The pulverized ore is washed through 
 the screens forming the side of the pan into a second pan below, con- 
 taining quicksilver. Iron arms keep the pulp in motion until amalga- 
 mation is completed, while the refuse is gradually carried over the rim 
 of the pan to the creek. 
 
 The Rock mills owned by Barber and Brady, turn out 120 sacks 
 or 12,000 pounds of flour in twenty-four hours. They are usually in 
 operation nearly the entire year. 
 
 An abundance of water power for all future demands is afforded 
 by Clear creek, which debouches from its mountain walled canon at 
 this point. It also supplies several irrigating ditches with water for the 
 farming districts. 
 
 While the coal veins of Boulder and some other counties are usually 
 flat, those of Jefferson are vertical or nearly so. 
 
 In 1872, what are known as the Golden Smelting works, were estab- 
 lished by Bagley and son. Afterwards they became the property of the 
 Golden Smelting Company. A blast furnace is used and gold, silver, 
 copper and lead are saved. Wm. B. Young, is manager and Gregory 
 Board, metallurgist. The works have been in successful operation the 
 entire year, with the exception of intervals when stopped for repairs 
 or improvements. The following is the statement of the operations of 
 the works for nine months of 1876. Ores rich in lead are the classes 
 desired. 
 
 NUMBER TONS 
 
 Clear Creek county shipped 1,027^ 
 
 Gilpin county shipped 685 
 
 Boulder county shipped 22I /i 
 
 Fremont shipped I2I K 
 
 Total number 2 <°55 
 
 Daily average j% tons. Average value $66 per ton.
 
 410 COLORADO. 
 
 Allowing the same value for the ores from each county, this would 
 
 gh o a yield for 
 
 i h.u Creek $67,815 iw 
 
 Gilpin 45. 21 " "" 
 
 Boulder 14,602 50 
 
 Fremont 8,002 Jo 
 
 I "Ml $I35.°3<> 00 
 
 The works ui' the Colorado Dressing and Smelting Gompany, at 
 Golden, began operations late in the spring of 1X76. The process is 
 that of Swansea, and of the Boston and Colorado Smelting works at 
 Black Hawk and Alma. The valuable metals are not separated at the 
 works, luil are sent by rail in the form of matte to Black Hawk for 
 separation. A furnace of fifteen tons daily capacity has heen in success- 
 ful operation for months, and has smelted from twelve to fifteen tons of 
 ore daily. Another furnace of equal size is being constructed, so that 
 within a few weeks the daily capacity will he thirty tons. Each furn- 
 ace can produce two tons of matte daily. 
 
 |ohn Collom, of many years experience in smelting and concentra- 
 ting ores in Clear Creek and other counties, is general manager for the 
 company and all of its establishments. He has individual charge al 
 headquarters; that is at the smelting works al Golden. Coal is used 
 as fuel and is considered much cheaper than wood, and equally effective. 
 
 Most of the ores treated here are sent from the large concentrating 
 works of the company at Black Hawk. A quantity, however, has been 
 furnished by works of similar character located one mile above Idaho 
 Springs. The latter operate mainly on silver ores, '.and as they run by 
 water power only, are now idle for the winter. Ores are also brought 
 from other localities in large quantities, the American mine, of Sun- 
 shine contributing largely. 
 
 The Concentrating and Dressing establishment, at Black Hawk, oc- 
 cupies the great Keith Mill building on North Clear creek, which was 
 enlarged for that purpose. This began operations in April last. Since 
 then it has been subjected to a number of stoppages from a variety of 
 causes, but from no defect of the works outside of trouble with screens. 
 
 Altogether very nearly 10,000 tons of ore were dressed at these 
 works from Gilpin county mines during the seven months ending No- 
 vember 1st, 1S76. These were usually concentrated into one-tuurth
 
 COLORADO. 411 
 
 and often one-fifth of their former bulk and then sent to the smelter at 
 Golden. Three tons per hour, or seventy-two tons in twenty-four 
 hours can be dressed at this place. The ore is first crushed by crushers 
 and rollers and then operated by machinery. A system ot jigging is 
 used for the coarser ores, while the finer material is handled on shak- 
 ing tables. The system is that of wet concentration, and is the inven- 
 tion of John Collom. The waste or gangue rock and comparatively 
 worthless ore is separated from the richer portion and the latter saved. 
 By this means the values are condensed into less bulk, giving very 
 nearly the entire quantity of gold, silver and copper in one ton, instead 
 of in four or rive. 
 
 Five tons of ore containing only S15 per ton. or S75 altogether 
 would not pay the expense of smelting alone, not to speak of mining. 
 But if this S75 is separated from the poorer rock so as to be contained 
 in one ton, good profits can be realized and liberal prices paid. That 
 is why these works are proving of incalculable benefit to the miner. 
 Ores of any description can be handled, but those rich in copper are 
 preferred. 
 
 These works treat the same grade of ores handled by the stamp 
 mills, and some that cannot be made to pay expenses there. The stamp 
 mills save something over half the valuable contents of the ore, losing 
 most all of the silver and copper. Their average returns were Sn 60 
 per ton in 1875. indicating the contents of the ore to be nearly S20 per 
 ton. The dressing works concentrate and then send the ores to 
 Golden, when they are smelted, and ninety-seven per cent of the gold, 
 silver and copper ore saved. < Ires that are of too poor a quality to be 
 mined and milled, are sold here at paying figures and then concentra- 
 ted and smelted. 
 
 It is some satisfaction to know that nearly the entire value is saved, 
 instead of forty per cent of it going down the creeks to irretrievable 
 waste. While $28,000,000 have been realized from the gold mines <>l 
 Cilpin county since 1859, probably a still larger amount hn^ been car 
 ried down North Clear Creek. 
 
 No statement has been received of the yield of these concentrated 
 ores. About 10,000 tons have been handled. Allowing this quantity 
 to contain the low average of less than S18 per ton, it should have 
 given a return of S17 per ton, or when reduced in bulk ol over S70 per
 
 412 COLORADO. 
 
 ton. This would give a yield, in seven months, of #170,000 from Gil- 
 pin county gold ores — mainly of a class that did not pay to mine and 
 mill before these works were built. When fairly under way, another 
 season, the showing will be far better. The above sum would repot 
 
 sent only a part of the value of shipments obtained from all ores smel- 
 ted by the company. 
 
 The Ralston and Murphy coal veins are located on Ralston Creek, 
 at the point of its issue from the mountains, fourteen milles from Den- 
 ver and five north of Golden. There are two parallel veins of une- 
 qual size but similar character, extending through both properties. 
 Unlike most other Colorado coal measures, these are vertical veins. 
 Geo. C. Munson, Esq., of Denver, recently made an examination and 
 gave this interesting report on them. " Coal of a merchantable quality 
 was first mined in the Ralston colliery, at a depth of thirty-five feet. 
 Here is the upper level which is eight hundred feet long. On this level 
 from a space five hundred feet long, ten high, and fourteen wide, 5000 
 tons of coal were sold at Denver. Double tracks of iron rails are laid 
 for carrying coal to the surface. The same incline that leads to the first 
 level, passes down eighty feet beyond, where another level has been 
 run in both directions, north and south. The incline is altogether one 
 hundred and ten feet long, attains a vertical depth of one hundred and 
 fifteen feet, and dips from thirty to thirty-five degrees. 
 
 One continuous vein of coal is developed above the "incline" mak- 
 ing a vertical depth of coal below the upper level of eighty feet. A 
 level, already one hundred and ten feet long, is being run at the bot- 
 tom. Width of the vein from fourteen to fifteen feet, two inches. 
 Coal clean, without faults, or foreign or worthless substance. Between 
 the two coal veins is a splendid body of fire-clay, twenty-nine feet 
 wide, and through this, a cross cut has been driven to connect them. 
 The west or small vein for a length of thirty-five feet, or as far as 
 opened, measures from five feet to six feet four inches in width. J. T. 
 Hodge, of the Hayden survey, made the following analysis of Ralston 
 and Murphy coal : 
 
 Specific Gravity, '.345 
 
 Water, 13-80 
 
 Ash 3-3 1 
 
 Volatile, 35-88 
 
 Fixed Carbon, 44-44 
 
 100.
 
 COLORADO. 413 
 
 The superior quality of these coals, as far as northern Colorado is 
 concerned, ensures higher prices than most others. The main Ralston 
 opening is covered by a building with engine, etc. Half a mile south 
 and for a considerable distance north includes the remaining develop- 
 ments." 
 
 The Murphy property commences six hundred feet from the Ral- 
 ston engine. Nine hundred feet beyond this is the main Murphy 
 shaft. This is sunk one hundred and fifty feet on the vein, with the 
 surface sixty feet below that of the Ralston works. Here the veins are 
 a little wider than they appear in the Ralston. The large one increased 
 from fourteen feet on the surface to fifteen feet below, and the small 
 vein measures from six feet four inches to six feet eight inches. A 
 branch railway will be constructed within a year connecting with the 
 Colorado Central, on the Boulder division, or at Golden. More pow- 
 erful hoisting machinery will soon be placed over the mines. Mr. 
 Munson estimates the number of tons of coal "in sight" as follows : 
 Murphy, large vein, 3,000,000; small vein, 1,000,000; Ralston, large 
 vein, 1,500,000; small vein, 1,000,000. At both mines are engines for 
 hoisting and screens for screening the coal. As the veins are vertical 
 and show no signs of departing from their present direction, the amount 
 of coal that lies beneath the lower workings cannot be estimated.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 PARK, I \KI VND SUMMIT COUNTIES. 
 
 The Silver licit-— Gold Lodes and Placers -The Mosquito 
 Range— Mounts Lincoln and Bross — Mining above the 
 ('liiiiii Eternal Frost and Snow— Bullion Products 
 — Yield of the Placers of the Platte, Blue and Arkan- 
 sas, Fremont County. 
 
 Park Count) occupies the South Park region and portions ol the 
 surrounding ranges of mountains. Ii is east of Lake and Summit 
 counties and west of the Snowy Range, south of Jefferson and 
 Clear ("reck Counties and west of the Pike's Peak section. The ele- 
 vation of the park, which embraces nearly iooo square miles, is 9000 
 to 10,000 feet above sea level. The outlaying mountains rise some 
 thousands of feet higher. The Mosquito range includes Mount Lin 
 coin with an elevation of 14,145 feet above sea level, and in a spur of 
 the range to the northward are Mounts Evans and Rosalie 14,330 and 
 14.340 respetively. The climate is cool hut pleasant in summer, hut 
 the winters are long and severe, and continue into the spring months. 
 
 This region is rich in gold and silver. The placers have yielded 
 largely and are again doing so but in a less degree. Up to the time of 
 the silver discoveries in 1 87 1 the gold lodes and placers had produced 
 82,500,000. principally obtained prior to 1866. The silver deposits art- 
 how ever of vastly greater value and extent. They did not produce 
 largely until 1S72 or rather 1S73, but have already yielded nearly 
 $3,000,000. 
 
 The argentiferous riches of the Mosquito range are found in lime- 
 stone and sometimes porphory formations — a different condition from 
 that existing among the northern mining districts of Colorado. Instead 
 of true fissure vein deposits, chambers and pockets of mineral are found 
 belonging to a system of contact veins, or veins between two forma- 
 tions. These deposits carry galena, gray copper, zinc blende and a 
 quartz gangue, when located in the higher sandstone, and galena, gray
 
 COLORADO. 415 
 
 copper and silver glance and usually a heavy spar gangue in the higher 
 limestone of Mount Lincoln. The mineral bearing rock is often in 
 the form of egg shaped deposits sometimes separated by the country 
 rock and at times connected by narrow seams. 
 
 E. D. Peters, formerly Territorial Assayer, at Fair play, refers to the 
 geological formation of this section as follows: 
 
 " From Fairplay to the base of the Mosquito range exist extensive gravel and 
 drift deposits entirely covering the surface of the country. These are all more or 
 less auriferous and include some of the best paying placers. The bed is a mica- 
 cious sand stone, containing much lime and alumina' The wash-boulders are 
 mostly quartzite from the higher formations, plentiful but not large. From Horse- 
 shoe district or further south to Ute or Hoosier Pass, the primitive rocks are over 
 laid by three distinct formations, two of which might be subdivided into an im. 
 mense nnmber of strata ; first, sand stone, second, limestone, third, porphyritic 
 trap. In many of the deeper gulches, and on several of the lower mountains, one 
 or all of these formations have been scoured away. On Mount Bross the geolog- 
 ical formations can be plainly seen. On the primitive schistose rocks rests a layer 
 of metamorphic sand stone 1,500 feet thick. This is over laid by limestone 1,800 
 feet thick. These are the approximate figures." 
 
 The principal gold lodes are found in the lower strata ot sand stone 
 and the silver veins in the other formations. 
 
 The first silver discovery in this section, was the Dwight, made 
 in June 1869, by Plummer and Myres, although little interest was 
 excited until the Moose was found in 1871 by Capt. Plummer. Other 
 discoveries followed, and a stampede ensued from all quarters, suc- 
 ceeded by a grand rush in the spring and summer of 1872. These 
 lodes are situated far up on the bleak and barren mountain peaks, form- 
 ing the Mosquito Range. They are above timber line, and from 12,000 
 to 14,000 feet above sea level. Of course the climate is an extremely 
 cold one, the summers are short and snow storms prevail at almost all 
 seasons. On this account and because of the inaccesability of the min- 
 eral belt, development was much slower than it would otherwise have 
 been. Yet the county has produced about as follows: 
 
 1859 to 1871 im Ium\ e 
 
 1872 
 
 187? 
 
 '874 
 
 •875 
 
 Total , $4,636 252
 
 416 COLORADO. 
 
 I'p to the last year almost the entire yield was from the silver mines 
 which were discovered too late in the season of 187 1 to produce any- 
 thing of importance. The yield of 1875 was mainly silver. 
 
 The rise and decline of gold mining, lode and placer, has been 
 noted in the historical sketch of Park county. This industry is again 
 reviving and the yield of the present year will he quite extensive. The 
 main source of Park County's wealth and prosperity are the argentifer- 
 ous riches in the limestone deposits of the Mosquito Range, and Buck- 
 skin ami in the mines of Horseshoe and Hall Valley and Geneva dis- 
 tricts. These are of immense extent and value, and notwithstanding 
 their high altitude and unfavorable climate have produced immensely 
 since mining began in 1 871-2. These districts are all near or above 
 timber line. 
 
 The mines on Mounts Lincoln and Bross are from 12,000 to 14,000 
 feet above sea level. Far above timber line and every species of veg- 
 etation, where snow covers the ground the greater portion of the year 
 and falls at all seasons, mining is carried on winter and summer and 
 with p.otit and success. From these lofty and barren peaks the miner 
 and prospector looks over the clouds on a scene of grandeur and beau- 
 ty such as few lands can boast of. Mountains, peaks and valleys greet 
 the eye on every hand. But for the scattered tunnel houses, the noise 
 of the pick and drill and of the ever recurring blast in the depths 
 beneath, the picture would be one of utter desolation. 
 
 It is the land of eternal frost — for, while the days are often warm 
 and pleasant and the mountain sides at times free from snow, the days 
 are always chilly, water freezes every night of the year, and no matter 
 how far the earth is penetrated the ore deposits and rock are always 
 frozen. Supplies are taken on to the mountain tops for the winter, at 
 which time the roads are usually impassable. Up in the clouds is the 
 lone miners' town of Quartzville. Still higher are the mines., Van 
 Wagenan reports the yield of the district, in 1874, to have been 3,000 
 tons of silver ore of an average value of #140 per ton, or $420,000 
 altogether, and 850,000 worth of auriferous pyrites. 
 
 The Moose mine ranks fust in size and production, It is located 
 on the north-east face of Mount Bross, over 12,000 feet above sea level- 
 Its ore bodies are nearly longitudinal in direction and are larger and 
 more continuous than any of its neighbors. It is worked by levels and
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 417 
 
 tunnels. It was bought by Dudley & Co. soon after its discovery in 
 187 1. Its yield is claimed to have equalled if not exceeded the follow- 
 lowing figures: 
 
 NO. TONS ORE. VALUE. TOTAL, 
 
 1871 5° $435 $ 21,768 00 
 
 1872 300 375 105,00000 
 
 1873 estimated 150,000 00 
 
 1874 do 100.000 00 
 
 1875-6 do 300,000 00 
 
 5676,768 00 
 
 There were also large quantities of low grade ore. It is estimated 
 by some that the mine has yielded altogether $750,000. 
 The Dwight has also been a very productive mine. 
 
 GOING INTO THE MOUNTAINS — SOUTH PARK STAGE LINE. 
 
 The Park Pool Association was organized in 1871, by citteens of 
 Gilpin County. The officers were N. P. Hill, president; II. R. Wol- 
 cott, secretary; J. A. Thatcher, treasurer, and J. V. Dexter, superin- 
 tendent. The company's hading mine is the Hiawatha. It is opened 
 by levels and has been very profitable. A dividend of fifty per cent. 
 on the company's capital of 840,000 was made in 1872, one oi seventy 
 per cent, in 1873, twenty-five per cent, in cash and fifty of stock in 
 1874, 25 per cent, cash in 1875. The Hiawatha has had a number of 
 pockets and the yield i said to have been £200,000. 
 26 

 
 4 1 8 COLORADO. 
 
 In the same district are the Dolly Varden, Russia, Security, Lon 
 don. Ford, Rob Roy and Musk Ox. The first is owned by George 
 Brunk & Co., who have realized a fortune therefrom, The Russia has 
 paid largely since its purchase by Win. Pogue of Indiana. Both are 
 well developed with tunnels and have shown several immense pockets 
 of high ami low grade ore. The Present Help mine on Mount Lincoln 
 is 14,000 feet above sea level. In Buckskin district are the Sweet 
 Home, McGraw, Prosperity, Denver, Narrow Gauge, Ruby. Indian 
 Boy, Fourth of July and John Dee lodes. Some of these carry lead 
 and others galena, zinc blende, silver glance, etc. 
 
 The Phillips gold lode, mentioned in a preceding chapter, is again 
 becoming famous. After being idle for years, recent developments 
 show a rich vein of copper pyrites, A thin casing of hard rock had 
 hidden the deposit, and a recent "blast" discovered it. 
 
 Mosquito district has some valuable gold mines, and others rich in 
 lead and silver. The Orphan Boy is the most ^famous of the former, 
 and the Eclipse is one of the best of the latter. 
 
 The branch smelting works of the Boston and Colorado Company 
 are located at Alma, and have treated the larger portion of the ores 
 mined in the above districts. They turned out $678,000 in 1875. Of 
 the latter amount $41,000 was silver and $19,000 copper. At Dudley> 
 are the Dudley Smelting Works, owned by the parties operating the 
 Moose mine, from which it obtains its supply of ore. Concentrating 
 works were established at Alma last summer, and will be of great ben- 
 efit in rendering the low grade ores available for the smelter. 
 
 Alma lies at the foot of Mount Bross, and is a flourishing town of 
 700 inhabitants. It is 10,044 feet above sea level, seven miles from 
 Fairplay and 102 from Denver. 
 
 Fairplay is the county seat and is situated in the South Park, several 
 miles east of the Mosquito range. The south Platte furnishes an 
 immense amount of good gulch or placer diggings at and near this 
 point. The Fairplay Placer Company, with $1,000,000 of capital stock, 
 mainly held by J. W. Smith and the estate of F. A. Clark, owns the 
 gulch for four miles, including 1,100 acres of placer ground. E. L. 
 Thayer leases this property and operates it very extensively, lie sub 
 leases to Chinamen, of whom two hundred H ere employed last summer. 
 
 Ili' Silver mines of Hall Valley are situated on the crest of the
 
 COLORADO. 419 
 
 Snowy Range, which forms a bend here on either side of the head of 
 the valley in the shape of a horse-shoe. The Hall Valley Company, 
 an English organization, expended large sums of money in the 
 building and re-building of smelting works, constructing a tram railway 
 from the works up to the mines, and in experimenting. They own the 
 Leftwick and Whale mines here, and the Revenue and others at Gen- 
 eva. They are all very rich. The works contain a blast smelter and 
 have been operating successfully (for the first time) this season. Five 
 tons of lead riches are shipped weekly and a calcining furnace of fif- 
 teen tons capacity was recently built. 
 
 The Champion is one of the main veins of this section. Ore, 
 heavy spar, with gray copper and no zinc. It is on the crest of the 
 range, which divides the counties of Park and Summit. Two tunnels 
 or levels are being driven and twenty men are employed. Large stone 
 buildings cover the mouth of the eighty-five foot shaft and the mouth 
 of the one hundred and forty-five foot level. A contract has been let 
 to drive a tunnel two hundred and fifty feet that will cut the vein at a 
 depth of one hundred and sixty feet, where levels will be run each way. 
 There is a vein three feet wide of ore worth from $175 to §220 per 
 ton. This mine has but few equals anywhere and another year will see 
 a large production. 
 
 Geneva district is situated on the range in Park and Summit coun- 
 ties and near the line of Clear Creek county. The most prominent 
 lode is the Revenue, very rich in silver and carrying bismuth. The 
 Treasure Vault and Glendale are exceedingly valuable veins, and so 
 are the U. S. Treasury, Congress and Leviathan. Some of the ore 
 goes to Georgetown on the backs of jacks and some to the Hall Val- 
 ley Smelting works. 
 
 Summit County extends from the crest of the Snowy Range west to Utah. It 
 embraces a large amount of country adapted to agricultural and pastoral purposes 
 and some gold and silver bearing districts of great extent. The belt of silver and 
 of silver and lead bearing veins unbraces many lodes of immense size and value. 
 That great natural barrier, the Snowy Range, has prevented access and devel- 
 opment. 
 
 The lodes in the range near Breckenridge and Lincoln are very rich in lead and 
 might be called lead veins. Those in Snalcc River ur Montezuma and Peru districts 
 are rich in silver. Here are the huge Peruvian and Anglo Norman veins, the Coin- 
 stock and others varying in width from ten to eighty feet. 
 
 The 1'oston Silver Mining Association has some of the best mines, and has
 
 420 COLORADO. 
 
 1" hi a li.ilf million here in ten ye;irs. This was the result of mismanagement, 
 mistakes, experiments, etc., of its members, The finest tunnel in the state is that 
 of this company, 1200 feet long anil as true as a level. Three very valuable lodes 
 have been intersected. This company have at last started the smelting works 
 with a process that is likely to prove successful. The ores are first crushed and 
 roasted and then smelted. The products of neighboring mines are purchased. 
 
 The Snake River mining region lies on the western slope of the dividing ridge 
 of the Rocky Mountain range, from fifteen to twenty miles from Georgetown. The 
 route from Georgetown lies over the Argentine Pass, 13,060 feet above sea level and 
 a few miles iuth of Gray's Peak, and descends on the west side down a wagon 
 road into the beautiful valley of the middle branch of Snake river, which latter is 
 a tributary of the Blue. This forest clad valley is walled about on three sides with 
 rugged craggy peaks and lofty mountains interspersed here and there with open gras- 
 sy vales and undulating hills presenting a landscape, grand and enchanting. Still 
 further down to the west and south are the beautiful valleys of the Blue and of Ten 
 Mile. 
 
 North of Summit is the newly formed county of Grand, which embraces the 
 Middle and North Parks, and the valleys of the Elk, Bear, Grand and Green. 
 Here is some of the most attractive country the eye of man has ever rested on. 
 The Ute Indian reservation occupies the western portions of Grand, Summit and 
 Lake counties. In the western part of Grand are the Hahn's Peak mines, where 
 one hu.idred and fifty men were at work last summer, principally in placer mining. 
 The North Park also shows valuable placer ground. The mountains encircling 
 Middle Park are rich in silver bearing lodes. The fame of the Rabbit Ear range 
 is spreading abroad, and the rich silver deposits there will soon be producing large- 
 ly. Markets and reducing works are too far away, at present, for any extensive ope- 
 rations, but this condition of affairs will not exist always. 
 
 South of Summit is Lake County. In the range near the borders of these 
 counties is a new silver district, and not far away on the head waters of the Arkan- 
 sas are the silver and lead mines, of which the Home-Stake is chief. California 
 gulch with its gold lodes and gulches has long been famous. Reduction works, 
 newly built, are in operation. near here. 
 
 The Lead mine in California gulch is perhaps the richest lead deposit in Colo- 
 rado. Several tons can be mined daily per man. 
 
 The gold mines of Montgomery which have been idle for years, are again being 
 worked. Long silent stamps once more begin to thunder and rattle at the base of the 
 great mountain (Lincoln; and the old town is again on the road to prosperity. This 
 place is in the valley at the foot of Hoosier or Ute Pass leading to Breckenridge. 
 
 The Malta Smelting works have run most of the summer and fall, on the silver 
 mines of California, Chalk creek, the upper Arkansas, etc. ; process, blast smelter 
 — 15 tons daily. Lewis and Sandels' Tarriff mine in Summit is very rich in silver 
 
 The head waters of the Blue, Arkansas and Platte, take their rise in the springs 
 and eternal snows of the Mosquito range. Those of the Blue and Platte stait on 
 tbeir long journey to either ocean from opposite sides of Mount Lincoln. The beds 
 and banks of these streams have yielded immensely in gold, and the auriferous 
 deposits are by no means exhausted. The upper valleys of these streams are loca-
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 421 
 
 ted in different counties. In Summit, the Blue and its tributaries, Georgia, Illinois 
 French, Gold Run and other gulches have been famous for years. Georgia, stood 
 second only to California gulch in its wonderful yield of gold in the olden times. 
 The Mining Review estimates the yield of the placers of these three counties at 
 $197,000 in 1875 and$225,ooo in 1876. It also publishes the following statement 
 of the yield of the gulch, placer and creek diggings of Colorado in gold dust for four 
 years. 
 
 1872 
 
 1873 
 
 1874 
 
 1875 
 
 
 $ 6,000 
 25,000 
 60,000 
 30,000 
 40,000 
 30,000 
 
 $26,000 
 38,000 
 75,000 
 68,000 
 42,000 
 35,ooo 
 
 $20,000 
 4 2 ,5oo 
 70,000 
 70,000 
 35,ooo 
 38,000 
 
 $275,000 
 
 $30,000 
 
 Blue 
 
 Platte 
 
 72,000 
 80,000 
 35,000 
 75,000 
 
 
 Total 
 
 $191,000 
 
 $284,000 
 
 $372,000 
 
 Among the great enterprises now fairly under way are those of the Fuller com- 
 pany in Summit, of the Fairplay company in Park, and of the Oro Ditch company 
 in Lake. These have expended large amounts of capital in constructing ditches 
 for hydraulic mining, and have large districts at their command. 
 
 Raymond gives the yield of the mines of Park, Lake and Summit, for 1874 as 
 below. This includes the mountain districts of these counties where they adjoin 
 one another and also the placers of the streams and gulches which take their rise 
 here. The districts are Snake river, Breckenridge, Hall and Geneva, Mosquito 
 Range and Upper Arkansas. 
 
 Gold, gulch and bar $230,000 
 
 Gold, Stamp and an arastra 130,000 
 
 Silver 565,860 
 
 Lead 35, 6 53 
 
 Copper 49,7 2 ° 
 
 Total $1,011,233 
 
 The production of Park county in 1875, was as follows : 
 
 Boston and Colorado and Dudley Smelting works. Value of matte shipped to 
 Black Hawk. 
 
 Silver $618,000 
 
 Gold 41,000 
 
 Copper 19,000 $678,000 
 
 Value of ore shipped out of county 50,000 
 
 Hall Valley Smelting works 18,360 
 
 Gulch and placer mines 7'." 
 
 Other sources 8,000 
 
 Total $830,860
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 FREMONT COUNTS 
 
 Fremont county situated south of Park and Kl Paso, and west of Pueblo, is fast 
 ung one of the prominent mining sections Here are rich deposits of splen- 
 did coal, mines of iron and copper, and veins enormously rich in silver. The D. & 
 R. (J. Railway extends to the county scat. Canon City, a flourishing town of 1,200 
 people. 
 
 Rosita is the great mining town and contains 1,400 people, all attracted there 
 within three or four years. This place is in ihe mountains and about thirty miles 
 from Canon. Nothing was done to develop the silver mines of this place until the 
 winter of 1872-3. The Senator and one or two others then attracted attention and 
 the discoveries of the Pocahontas, Humboldt, Leviathan, Virginia and hundreds of 
 veins followed. There was no ore market or reducing works nearer than Denver, 
 or Golden, about 200 miles distant. Consequently only very rich ores would pay for 
 transportation. Vet the yield of 1875 was 5342,000, Two sets of reducing works 
 have recently been built. Those of Prof. Mallet, similar to the chlorination and 
 lixiviation works of North Boulder, are now ready for work. These should be of 
 vast benefit to the district 
 
 The Pensylvania reduction works of 10 tons capacity — roasting and amalgama- 
 tion — Prof. Van Diest, manager — will soon be treating Humboldt and Virginia ores. 
 
 Richard Irwin was the leading pioneer of the district. The following are the 
 depths if the leading mines : Humboldt, 370 feet ; Pocahontas, 200 feet ; Leviathan, 
 150 feet: Pioneer, 100 feet; Chieftain, 130; Senator, 70 feet; Cymbeline, 50 feet ; 
 Lucille, 50 feet. These lodes have a great quantity of ore already mined. The 
 " country rock " is a kind of porphory. 
 
 The great vein of this district is that known for intervals under the names ol 
 Pocahontas, Humboldt, and Virginia. Most of the bullion of the district came 
 from this vein, although there are many others of great value. It is said to have 
 prnduced altogether $350,000. The fall in silver and the want of reduction works 
 has caused a falling off in the amount of work and production this year, but this will 
 no longer be the case. Sinking will not be discontinued until a depth of 500 feet is 
 attained. Three deep shafts are now being driven. That on the Humboldt is now 
 over 370 feet deep. The time of actual mining on these lodes is less than two years. 
 Besides the above, are the Senator, enormously rich, the Leviathan, Leavenworth 
 and others. 
 
 South of Rosita and in the Sangre de Christo range, on the eastern rim of the 
 great San Luis park is a belt of lode and gulch minds recently discovered, and 
 which are already quite productive. Three stamp mills have been at work there 
 this summer.
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 THE SAX JUAN COUNTRY. 
 
 Among the Great Southern Mines— Hinsdale— San Juan 
 —La Plata— Rio Grande— San Luis Park— Mountains 
 Ribbed with Gold and Silver— The Country of the 
 Future. 
 
 The San Juan Country embraces the south-western portion of Colo- 
 rado and the counties of Rio Grande, Hinsdale, San Juan and La 
 Plata. The San Luis Park region to the eastward is sometimes con- 
 sidered a portion of San Juan. The latter is traversed by a series of 
 the loftiest and grandest mountain ranges in North America — a few 
 solitary peaks in other sections excepted. 
 
 Here is said to be the grandest silver belt the world can produce. 
 It is about twenty-five miles wide and perhaps one hundred long, or 
 about as extensive as all the mineral belts of northern Colorado. Its 
 production has been small owing to distance from reducing works and 
 the almost inaccessable character of the country. But works are 
 being supplied, and another year will witness the beginning of an out- 
 pouring of wealth from these treasure vaults of the Sierra Madre that 
 will be counted by millions. The " country rock" is usually trachyte 
 and granite. 
 
 HINSDALE COUNTY. 
 
 The Lake City mines are the most accessable of any leading silver 
 district. This place has grown from a wilderness to a bustling town of 
 1400 people within a period of a little over two years. Its situation 
 and surroundings are said to resemble those of Georgetown, except 
 that the mountains that overshadow it are giants beside those of the 
 Silver Queen of the north. Lake City is located at the junction of 
 Henson creek and the Lake Fork of the Gunnison river. 
 
 •Proneunt^d Sau Warn.
 
 424 COLORADO. 
 
 During the past summer the Crooke brothers, who have become 
 heavily interested in the mines, have erected concentrating works. 
 These will be of untold benefit to the miner, for they are as necessary 
 here as in the gold, silver or tellurium districts of northern Colorado. 
 The process is Krom's dry separator. They ship to their works in 
 \c\\ Vork. 
 
 l'hc next -rand move for the advancement and development of this 
 section is t ! • building of Van Gieson's chlorination and lixiviation 
 mill, similar to the one at North Boulder, and of fifteen tons daily 
 capacity. The miners now have home markets, which give an 
 opportunity to turn their ore into silver and greenbacks instead of hav- 
 ing almost no market at all as previous to the advent of these two enter- 
 prises. The mill will he ready for work in January 1877. The 
 reports of the mines given below, it must be remembered, were made 
 before the opening of this market. 
 
 On the mountains bordering Henson creek are hundreds of lodes 
 many of them extremely valuable. Five miles above town is a strong 
 vein, the Ule — said to have seven feet of solid mineral — ore, low grade. 
 but its great quantity ensures a profit. Near by the Ute has a smaller 
 vein but is very rich. The Ocean Wave and Wave of the Ocean, both 
 on the same vein, are far up on the mountain and nine miles from Lake 
 City. In one place there were eighteen inches of galena and gray 
 copper. Four-firths of these lodes were sold in August for $80,000, 
 They are being rapidly opened. Close by is the Red Rover, of the 
 same character, and showing ore that assays $900. On the opposite 
 side of the stream is the Big Casino. There are many other lodes in 
 this locality that may yet prove as valuable as the above named. In 
 a short period of time two hundred tons of ore have been produced of 
 a high grade. No other kind has paid to ship over these gigantic 
 mountains to a market hundreds of miles away. If the low grade 
 galena ores can be profitably worked the productions of these mines 
 will be thousands of tons annually. Most lodes within fifteen miles of 
 Lake City are worked. Galena and gray copper are found in most of 
 these veins. 
 
 The mines on the Lake Fork of the Gunnison are admirably loca- 
 ted near the valley, cutting the mountains at right angles, so that tun- 
 can be driven in on them. Thus expensive shafts and cross-cut
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 425 
 
 j*U*/,„ 
 
 tunnels are unnecessary. On the west side of this stream and two 
 miles from Lake is the Coin lode worked by one of Rand's steam 
 drills. Further on is the celebrated Hotchkiss, showing a very bold 
 out-crop from the mountain, visible for sevenal miles. Two sacks ( 150 
 pounds) of tellurium ore from this mine brought at the rate of #40,000 
 in San Francisco. The telluride ore is not continuous. A tunnel was 
 run on the crevice one hundred and ten feet. A cross-cut shows no 
 walls north for forty feet. Four feet south of the tunnel is a thirteen • 
 foot vein — quartz and mineral mixed. On the "dump" were two 
 hundred'tons of fifty dollar ore ready to be concentrated. 
 
 On the opposite side 
 of the river, are the 
 Belle of the West and 
 the Belle of the East — 
 both on the same vein 
 — strong and well de- 
 fined, with six to eigh- 
 teen inches of ore. 
 Highest assays, #425. 
 The deepest shaft (fifty 
 feet) is on the Belle 
 of the West extension. 
 Several short tunnels 
 show plenty of ore that would pay with a home market. Nearer 
 the town, on the same side, are the Cora, Dolphin and others with 
 some very rich ores, 
 
 Burrows Park, on the Gunnison, twenty miles from Lake City, has 
 some fine looking lodes. Ores have been shipped from the Napoleon 
 III — highest assay #3,600. The Del Norte is of great size — vein four 
 to six feet — solid ore, with large per centage of copper and iron pyrites. 
 Assays 22 to 500 ounces silver, I oz gold. Shaft 20 feet deep, and 
 74 tons of ore out. 
 
 SAN JUAN COUNTY. 
 
 The Forks of the Animas is a point of considerable importance. 
 Here are thirty houses, a post office and two mills. One of the latter 
 belongs to the Dacotah and San Juan Mining Company, crushing capac- 
 iiv fifty tons per diem. The "Nevan" jig (thirty tons daily) is used 
 
 THE WOI.VF.RINE.
 
 426 COLORADO 
 
 — will be enlarged in spring. This was operated one week this fall 
 with excellent results. The superintendent, C. II. Mclntirc, expects 
 to buy all the ores that are offered next summer. The San Juan Smel- 
 ting and Refining Company, Prof. Foss, Supt., owns the other estal> 
 Lishment. Nome ores have been smelted and the purchase and reduc- 
 tion of ores will continue steadily from next spring. 
 
 Only a leu oi the best lodes can he mentioned. The Mountain 
 Queen, three mile, up the lefl fork and near the range, has six feet of 
 ore in one place heavy galena, some copper and iron pyrites and little 
 or no zinc— average assay S70 in silver. 
 
 Below in the Burrows, one of ten "locations'* (15,000) on 'he 
 same great ledge — out-crop large and visible for miles — eight feet ol 
 nearly solid mineral. 
 
 On the right fork is the Columbus half a mile from the town. This 
 has an immense crevice with seven feet of mineral and gangue. 
 Highest assays $600. There are several "locations" on the vein. 
 The Ulysses and Lucky are owned by the Graham S. M. Co., of Sioux 
 t ity, Iowa. 
 
 Below the town are many good lodes. The Grub Stake has yielded 
 $370 per ton. The Eliza Vane and the Silver Wing, close together are 
 very large — four feet of ore ten feet below the surface — galena, gray- 
 copper and copper pyrites-Mow grade but adapted to smelting. 
 
 Hovvardsville, is on the Animas eight miles below the "Forks" and 
 in the center of a very good district. The Veta Madre, two and a half 
 milles up Cunningham gulch, has a splendid six-foot vein yielding 
 $120 per ton. The Pride of the West, one-half a mile above, is one of 
 the largest and best developed lodes — forty feet wide — can be seen for 
 miles. Surface holes show low grade ore. A cross-cut tunnel one 
 hundred and twenty-five feet long, shows at a depth of one hundred 
 feet, two and one-half feet of coarse, heavy galena, worth #50 to #100 
 per ton. Twenty-five feet further across the crevice the tunnel cuts the 
 main ore vein, four feet wide, galena, gray copper, zinc-blende, copper 
 pyrites, with fifty per cent, of lead and very little zinc — highest assay 
 of the gray copper $9,500 — assorted ore $320 to $400. To the south 
 is the Philadelphia, small but very rich and producing handsomely. 
 
 On the opposite tide of Cunningham Gulch are the Mountaineer, 
 Highland Mary and others. The last named promiwwi well, and ii 
 !*«in^ rapidly opened by an Ingersol *t»am drill.
 
 COLORADO. 427 
 
 On Hazleton mountain, two miles below Howardsville, are the 
 Aspen, Susquehanna, Prospector, and other noted mines. Those 
 named are the best developed and produced largely in 1876— ore sold 
 to Silverton smelters. 
 
 Below Silverton on Sultan mountain, are the Empire and Jennie 
 Parker operated by Melville and Summerville, who are building 
 reduction works there. 
 
 The [Empire shows very good ore in its fifty-foot shaft. Green's 
 smelting works were successfully operated last summer and are the 
 only ore market at or near Silverton, Capacity twelve tons daily, ore 
 roasted and smelted into lead bullion, which is sent east. 
 
 San Juan County is divided in two parts by a range from 13,000 to 
 14,000 feet in height. Silverton is the County Seat. 
 
 Mineral City is two and a half miles north of the Forks of the 
 Animas. A few of the very prominent lodes will be noted. 
 
 Thunderbolt — four foot vein — can be seen for miles, great extent, 
 several locations. Boston — tunnel one hundred feet long — one hund- 
 red foot shaft being sunk from tunnel; vein, four feet of galena and 
 gray copper ore. Mastodon — on same vein as Thunderbolt — six feet 
 of ore, sinking shaft one hundred feet. Del Norte — sinking shaft one 
 hundred feet; the Red Cloud and Vermillion each eighty feet. The 
 Red Cloud has four hundred ounce silver ore. The Bill Young 
 runs $500 in silver and $100 in gold per ton. The Uncompahgre Chief 
 is a noted vein. The Pride of Sysacuse has shipped ore to Crook's 
 Lake City works during the entire season. 
 
 Down the Uncompahgre river and within five miles of Ouray is the 
 Mother Cline lode. The vein is stripped for a distance of one hundred 
 and eighty feet. The width of the vein is not known, but a cross- 
 cut has been driven eighteen feet through almost solid mineral and the 
 wall is not yet reached. Assays from the lode runs from $120 to $1000 
 per ton. This is one of the most noted mines in this section. Across 
 the river is the Royal Albert, Duke of Edinburg and Royal Consort, in 
 all 4,500 feet on me vein. Ore, galena and copper worth §120 and 
 over. South is the Mountain Monarch and north the Michael Breen 
 assays $600. 
 
 Cafion Creek comes into the Uncompahgre from the west at Ouray. 
 The overhanging walls of granite nearly unite above it at one point.
 
 428 COLORADO. 
 
 Here is some of the grandest scenery in the universe. The mount- 
 ains rise perpendicularly in benches one behind another to the heighth 
 of thousands of feet above the Uhcompahgre. 
 
 One mile away is the famous "Mineral Farm," or"Gus Begole's 
 Patch," one of (he won. Ins of the world. It comprises three parallel 
 ridges of quartz and mineral each two hundred feet long, about three 
 hundred feet apart. There are live locations — Nos. one, two, three, 
 four and live covering forty -three acres of ground. The actual amount 
 of ground covered by the deposit is twelve acres. There are four- 
 teen different openings and all show mineral. A careful test gave an 
 average assay of one hundred and seventy-five ounces of silver per ton. 
 
 Eight miles from Ouray, up Canon creek is the Wheel of Fortune 
 lode. It has eighteen inches of gray copper, galena and ruby silver 
 ore. Mill returns six hundred and fifty ounces. Near by are the 
 (hand Trunk, Mark Twain, Caribou, Seven-Thirty, Circassian, Ruby 
 Silver and many others. 
 
 This is one of the best mining sections in the country. Coal is 
 found in ibundance on the Uhcompahgre and Gunnison rivers. Ouray 
 will soon be one of the most prosperous mining camps. •» 
 
 Thirty miles to the west of Ouray and near the Utah line is the new 
 mining camp of San Miguel. Here are gold and silver mines, and 
 placer diggings said to be exceedingly rich. 
 
 Near Ouray are the Trout and Fisherman lodes, at the mouth of 
 Canon Creek. They are in limestone country rock. The crevices are- 
 small but ore very rich. Just above the last named, on the north side 
 of the creek is the Ophir lode. Like the latter it is a small vein but 
 very rich. 
 
 hi the neighborhood of Ouray are a number of hot springs, of great 
 size. They will some day be very valuable. The river at Ouray does 
 not freeze for a distance of four miles owing to the water from the 
 hot springs. 
 
 LA PLATA COUNTY. 
 
 La Plata County occupies the south-western corner of the state, and 
 Parrott City is the county seat. This town is on La Plata river, twelve 
 miles from the Animas and has forty or fifty houses. Here are placer 
 claims that may prove remunerative. Of the many mines but few can 
 be mentioned.
 
 COLORADO. 429 
 
 The Comstock (gold lode) is two miles north of town, and some of 
 its ore has yielded at the rate of $40,000 per ton. It is claimed that 
 this mine produces native amalgam. The Moroveratz has three feet 
 of rich sulpherets of silver and carbonates of copper. The Bay City — 
 eight feet of ore — samples milled at Denver, gave at the rate of $800 
 per ton. 
 
 Starting west from Lake City, forty miles travel brings one to Sil- 
 verton on the Animas river. Twelve miles above it are the Forks of 
 the Animas, and two and one half miles above and higher up the range 
 is Mineral City. In the opposite or south-eastern direction and over 
 the La Plata range are Parrott City and Animas City, the former sixty 
 miles further down the river than Silverton. This brings one in La 
 Plata County. North-east of Silverton is the Gunnison and the town of 
 Ouray. All of this country is one mass of rugged and almost impassa- 
 ble mountains traversed by a number of lofty ridges or divides and cul- 
 minating in peaks. There are some fine farming lands on some of the 
 river bottoms, especially the Gunnison and some of its tributaries. 
 
 The following is from an interesting report of the San Juan silver 
 region from the pen of Thomas J. Campbell, of Georgetown, who 
 made an extended examination during the summer. As the paper was 
 prepared for parties who desired to ascertain the exact chances for 
 investment, its tone is very guarded and nothing is stated but what was 
 actually seen. The country is young yet but shows better prospects of 
 future production than any other part of Colorado did at the same 
 stage of development. 
 
 The principal point at present is Lake city, in Hinsdale^county. From the 
 Railroad at Canon City via Saguache the distance is^oo miles, from La Veta, the 
 present end of the track via Del Norte the distance is 170 miles; by either route 
 the road is naturally good and a t railroad can be built without extra expense. The 
 town is located at the junction of the Lake Fork of the Gunnison'and Henson creek. 
 The surrounding mountains rise to a height of from three to four thousand feet above 
 the level of the valley, and are covered with afair growth of timber, sufficient to 
 supply the mines for a number of years to come. The lodes on Henson creek are 
 generally quite accessable and roads can be made at a reasonable cost. A good 
 road has already been constructed from Lake city some six miles up Henson creek 
 and is being pushed further as fast as possible. The country rock is a kind of Por- 
 phory, soft and easily decomposed by the action of the atmosphere, so that the min- 
 eral veins are generally exposed and easily found. They are as a rule large and 
 well defined, but at present are slightly developed, the deepest shaft or drift, being 
 not over fifty feet. The ore is of an auriferous character, being a mixture of galena 

 
 4^0 COLORADO. 
 
 ji ,v i <>pp«r, copper pyrii.es ami spar. It could be reduced by smelting and n easily 
 concentrated. The best gray copper contains as bigh as 750 ounces per ton. The 
 ore will carry before concentration, 50 ounces. I saw veins of solid clear ore 18 
 inches thick. The mines on Henson creek have already produced about 200 tons. 
 If the large veins of low grade galena ore can be profitably worked, the production 
 of that locality will soon be easily made to reach thousands of tons yearly. 
 
 The lodes on the Lake Fork of the Gunnison, arc admirably located for 
 economical working. The discovery shalts are in most cases located near the 
 base ol the mountain, where good wagon roads can be cheaply made, and as they cut 
 the mountain at right angles, or nearly so, they can be cheaply worked by tunneling. 
 They are large uad well defined, being as a rule from 8 to 10 feet wide between the 
 walls and showing veins of clear ore from four to eighteen inches in thickness. The 
 ore is similar to that found on Henson creek, but carries more gray copper and cop- 
 per pyrites. The deepest shaft I saw was 50 feet. The tunnel on the Hotchkiss 
 no feet, is not run on the mineral vein. 
 
 From Lake City to Burrows Park, the distance is 20 miles. A good grade for a 
 road can I think, be had, but at present the ascent is very steep, and the road very 
 bad. The elevation of the Park is about 9,500 feet, the timber, similar to that usu- 
 ally found near timber line in Colorado. The mine having the most developement 
 was closed and the ore had been carried away, It is owned by Crook and is said to 
 be very rich. The deepest hole I saw was twenty feet, the vein very large, over 
 eight feet, but broken so badly that the true size of the vein could not be ascertained. 
 I estimated the pile of ore at the mine at seventy -five tons, and found it equally 
 divided, one-half being copper pyrites of a very fine quality, and the other, galena, 
 with considerable zinc. The test made of the copper ore ran from twenty-two to 
 sixty ounces silver per ton and one ounce of gold. The ore seems admirably suited 
 for smelting, and the supply seems to be abundant. This lode is called the Del 
 Norte, and is decidedly the most promising prospect I saw in the way of copper ore. 
 The other lodes in that neighborhood all seem to carry considerable copper, but 
 there is so little done that no satisfactory conclusion could be arrived at as to the 
 amount of ore to be had or its value. Tests made of a number of copper specimens 
 showed them to be low grade both in silver and gold. The gray-copper I found to 
 contain not over 500 ounces. 
 
 From Bnrrows Park you cross the range by a very bad road which is built 
 just at timber line, and arrive at the Forks of the Animas, thirty miles from Lake 
 city. Two mills are in process of erection and expect to be completed this season 
 One a blast furnace, the other a concentrator, using the Nevan gig. The lodes in the 
 neighborhood and those located above the town, are all monster veins, some of them 
 over ten feet between walis. The ore is very uniform in appearance and in value 
 also, if I may judge from what I saw and tested. It is a clear galena, mixed with 
 spar, and as a rule, low grade. At this point, and around it are numerous veins which 
 are being more energetically developed than any in the county. They bear the 
 same general charactei and appearance but carry more gray copper and arc richer 
 in silver. The ore now being broken will be treated at the Forks and at Lake City 
 to which latter place, it will be carried by a short cut down Henson creek, the dis. 
 being only eighteen miles. Three of the mines located in that neighborhood
 
 COLORADO. 43 1 
 
 have been furnishing Crook's works with twenty tons of ore per week for some time 
 past. They are located near the top of the range. I believe that this ore is worth 
 about ioo ounces, although picked specimens will go much higher. 
 
 Two miles and a half below the Forks of the Animas, I found a number of cop- 
 per lodes which promise to be very productive, but as yet little or nothing has been 
 or is being done. The veins are large and the ore well suited for smelting, but will 
 not average very high in silver or gold. 
 
 At Howardsville. eight miles below the Forks, I found some very fine veins of« 
 galena and gray copper, and considerable good work is being done. The ore will 
 average ioo ounces and is mostly smelting ore. A blast furnace has been in opera- 
 tion during the summer, and has been very successful, but the heavy freights make 
 the business not very profitable. A Philadelphia company is now engaged in put- 
 ting up what is known as the Syblong process and are also developing a number of 
 lodes in that neighborhood. 
 
 I found large quantities of iron, lime-stone and marble in that part of the 
 conntry The timber is not very good or abundant, coal is said to exist at a point 
 on Mineral creek eighteen miles away, and also] forty-five miles down the river. 
 The veins are said to be from two and one -half fo eight feet thick, and the quality of 
 coal very good. 
 
 This county is shut in by a mountain range on all sides but one, and there you 
 find an impassable canon which decends 3,500 feet in the first eleven miles. As the 
 range is impassable neariy six months in the year, they are striving for an outlet 
 through this canon. This will bring them in contact with good agricultural country 
 and give them a choice between several of the leading southern Colorado trading 
 points. Until this is accomplished the country must remain at a great disadvantage 
 and progress in mining must necessarily be slow. 
 
 Ouray, situated on the Uncompahgre, is thirty miles distant from Lake city 
 by way of the Henson creek road and Iudian Thief trail. By the wagon road it is 
 eighty miles. It is the natural supply point of two large mineral districts, and has 
 a good agricultural district in the valley of the river below, from which to obtain 
 supplies. The climate is mild and the natural advantages equal to those of any 
 other mining town in Colorado. 
 
 A description of the mines would necessarily prove uninteresting, from the fact 
 that little or no development has yet been done. The mines at this time are all 
 prospect holes and nothing more. The prospect is good, but it is impossible to cal- 
 culate what is not yet in reach. The ore found is good, no trouble in finding rich 
 specimens, which upon being tested proved to be rich in silver, gold, lead and cop- 
 per. I believe in the future prosperity of that district more firmly than in any 
 other in the San Juan country. Not to seem to slight this district, I will tell of one ' 
 man's prospect which 1 thought a little remarkable. He has taken up five lodes 
 side by side and claims forty-three acres. There are fourteen openings on the prop- 
 erty, the deepest of which is fifteen feet. The surrounding country rock is lime- 
 stone and the ore occurs in ordinary quartz or associated with it. In the deep hole 
 the ore appears on all sides and in the bottom, and the hole is fully eight feet wide. 
 At other holes the solid ore is ten and twelve feet wide. Where the surface dirt has 
 merely been removed I have walked on solid galena ore for twenty feet, which
 
 4^2 COLORADO. 
 
 looked like a \ ein, 1 made tests from every hole and as good an average as I could 
 
 and was satisfied thai the m,- was ;;">"' \ ' ' \ rh h in lead and decidedly good in 
 silver. Taking the fourteen holes all together, it is the most remarkable prospect I 
 I \ er saw. It is not at all like anything in the surrounding districts. The timber in 
 that neighborhood is of far better quality and much more abundant than any I saw 
 in the San Juan country. It is tall and large. Oak brush is plenty. I measured one 
 Si rub oak that was eight inches through. Crass is very abundant and of the finest 
 ■ quality- Coal occurs at a point five miles below the town, but its character has not 
 as yet been fairly tested. The vein is not very large. 1 heard of a large vein on 
 the Indian reservation, but could obtain no reliable information concerning it. The 
 people of Ouray seem inclined to favor the buiIding,of a railroad to Utah. A con- 
 nection could be made with the Utah Central in about 350 miles, and the country 
 traversed is said to be good for grass and general agriculture. 
 
 RIO GRANDE COUNTY 
 
 is mainly located south and west of the stream of the same name. It 
 includes a little of the western portion of San Luis Park, the upper 
 or mountain valley of the great river of the north and the Summit and 
 adjoining mountains. It contains several gold and silver districts and 
 some good agricultural and pastoral lands. 
 
 Del Norte is finely located in the delightful valley of the Rio 
 Grande at the point where the stream leaves the mountains and enters 
 the Park. The surroundings are grand and beautiful. Excellent 
 farming lands enclose it and a large tract can be made available by 
 irrigation. To the east lies the San Luis valley, as level as a floor, and 
 on the eastern side of it, forty miles away, are the Sierra Blanco (white 
 mountains) whose snow capped summits are 14,440 feet above the sea. 
 Del Norte is a flourishing business mart, with stores that carry hundred 
 thousand dollar stocks. There are two banks, a newspaper, public 
 schools, churches, hotels, etc. 
 
 The richest gold district of Southern Colorado is that of South 
 Mountain in the Summit Range, twenty-six miles south of Del Norte 
 and 12,000 feet above sea level. The great drawbacks are a severe 
 climate, heavy snows and the altitude — a divide of 13,000 feet must be 
 crossed to reach Summit. The summers are short and the roads are 
 almost impassable fromsnow or mud during most of the year. But the 
 gold is there and thai has buill a town and attracted miners, capitalists 
 and stamp mills. 
 
 In 1873 * l began U> be noised abroad that Peterson and Brandt had 
 made a wonderful discovery in the far off southern mountains, and the
 
 Colorado. 433 
 
 free gold quartz and nuggets they exhibited created no little excitement 
 in Pueblo and Denver. In the short summers of 1 874-5 hundreds of 
 prospectors went there, and locations were made until the whole 
 mountain was covered with pre-emptions — all in the endeavor to 
 secure a piece, however small, of the precious ground. It appeared to 
 be a vast mass of "float ore " or " slide," and for a time was consid- 
 ered one huge mountain of quartz. Subsequent developments show 
 that there are five veins at least, and that it is not simply a deposit or a 
 "blow out." The country rock is a kind of porphory. The main 
 lode or ledge runs diagonally across the mountain, south thirty degrees 
 east, and numerous spurs and feeders put into it. The claims 
 were generally located north and south — being made before the "slide" 
 or float ore had been entered enough to determine^ the true course of 
 the vein. The surface ore paid largely. All of the gold produced by 
 the district comes from this main vein. The locations on it are those 
 of the Little Annie, Odin, Golden Queen and San Juan Consolidated 
 companies. ( hving to the manner in which the pre-emptions were 
 made- — crossing where the vein lias since been found to be — the Annie 
 and Queen have each only about fifty feet, that being the width of 
 their locations. The Odin has two hundred and seventy-five feet. 
 
 A> usual with prospectors, Peterson and Brandt had no money to 
 build stamp- mills, although they had what appeared to be a mountain 
 of " free gold " quartz. In 1874 they transported sacks of ore on the 
 backs of mules down to Del Norte, (there was no road then) and 
 from there sent it by teams to Canon and thence by rail to Golden, 
 three hundred and fifty miles away. One lot of four tons sold for 
 Si, 660. As soon as the snows had disappeared in (June) 1875, Dr. 
 Adams built a five-stamp mill on Alamosa creek, by the side of South 
 Mountain. Soon after W. H. Van Gieson brought in the ten-stamp 
 Annie mill and thereby secured an interest in the Little Annie prop- 
 erty. The Crooke brothers, of New York, then bought in and afterwards 
 secured Van Gieson's interest. The mill ran but a short time and shut 
 down a> soon as the snows of < Jctober came, but S30,000 were obtain- 
 ed. The Crooke brothers had secured a controlling inrerest in the 
 Golden Queen and had put in a ten-stamp mill that turned out £14,000. 
 
 The Little Annie, the best developed properly on South Mountain, 
 was opened by a long "nit" from thirty to fifty feel wide, which ai 
 27
 
 434 COLORADO. 
 
 its head was fifty feel deep. The ground excavated was all quart/, 
 averaging $74 per ton ! It penetrated the solid vein. Last summer a 
 shaft was sunk thirty fee) belov the levej of the cut, and the yield lias 
 Keen S150 per ton! In a single week this mill turned out $6,000. 
 Peterson is the Superintendent, and Peterson, Brant, the Crooke broth- 
 ers and Livingston form the company. 
 
 The Odin Company, of whose property (the Del Norte) Col. Tims. 
 M. Bowen is -one-fourth owner and general manager, is sinking a shaft 
 (now fifty one feet deep) twenty-five feet south east of the Annie shaft 
 and just off that ground. Bowen owns the twenty-four-stamp mill 
 erected by Cropsey last summer, and mines, hauls and mills the Odin 
 ore at $14 per ton on a contract for 20,000 tons. 
 
 The Golden Queen supplies its ten-stamp mill, which ran all sum- 
 mer. In a few weeks of 1875 il yielded $14,000. The Golden Star 
 and Adams mills have crushed ore for both the Cuieen and Annie. 
 
 The Golden Star Company (Morey and Sperry) own a property 
 that has nearly the same direction as the Annie and comes near it on 
 the northern side. The workings near the Annie have furnished 
 quart/ for a width of thirty feet, worth from $15 to $25 per ton. A 
 ten-stamp mill was built last summer. 
 
 The San Juan Consolidated Company is the heaviest concern of all. 
 Besides its part of the great vein (the Annie) it owns two hundred and 
 fifty acres of ground which includes placer lands and the town site. 
 Its officers are C. W. Tankersley, president, and Thos. M. Bowen, sec- 
 retary, treasurer and manager. A thirty-stamp mill began to crush the 
 company's ore in August, or about the time the Bowen and the Sperry 
 mill started. A fifty-foot shaft is being sunk two hundred feet north- 
 east of the Annie shaft, and shows as good ore as the latter did at the 
 same depth. 
 
 Work closed in the district for the winter in October. Hereafter 
 matters will he arranged so that work will continue the entire year, not- 
 withstanding the severity of the winters. It is impossible to obtain the 
 bullion product. Allowing twenty stamps to have run seventy -five 
 days on Annie and Queen ore — twenty tons of quartz daily, yielding 
 $40 per ton — we have $60,000. This estimate may be too high, but 
 the entire district must have yielded nearly $100,000 in the short time 
 in 1875, when work was possible. The larger companies milled but
 
 COLORADO. 435 
 
 little over a month before winter set in. There are now six mills with 
 eighty-nine stamps on the Alamosa, capable of crushing seventy-five 
 tons of quartz daily. Next June they will all be at work and by the 
 end of December will probably have exported $500,000 worth of gold. 
 
 ' THE SAN JUAN COUNTRY. 
 
 Since the above went to the printer, further valuable information 
 regarding the San Juan country has been obtained. San Juan and La 
 Plata counties lie on the Pacific Slope of the mountains. The former 
 is watered by the Animas and its branches, which pass south 
 through La Plata county, and by the Uncompahgre, San Miguel 
 and Dolores, which flow to the north west. The towns of San Juan 
 county are Silverton, Howardsville, Eureka, Animas Forks, Mineral 
 City, Ouray and San Miguel. Silverton, the county seat, registers six 
 hundred voters and is growing rapidly. In 1876 Greene & Co.'s 
 smelting works, at this place, produced over $106,000 worth of bullion. 
 Work continued from spring till the heavy snows of October. Another 
 smelter will be added to them in the coming spring. Melville and 
 Summerfield are building reduction works for the "Lightning Amal- 
 gamator." Brolaski & Co., of St. Louis, are putting up reduction 
 works — thirty tons capacity — on Cement Creek, four miles from Silver- 
 ton, and at Howardsville, four miles north, Edward Innis & Co., of 
 New York, are building extensive works. J. F. Carter has established 
 sampling works at Pueblo, for the purchase and shipment of San Juan 
 ores. These notes are given to show the ore markets that this region 
 will have hereafter. 
 
 Probably the best developed mine in th San Juan region is the 
 Aspen, near Silverton. Its owners employ twenty men, and sold over 
 $40,000 worth of ore to Greene & Co. la:,t season. The Yellow 
 Mountain, Silver Storm and Silver Cloud lodes are new discoveries, 
 with very rich mineral, giving large mill returns. The Yellow Mount- 
 ain has a forty-foot tunnel on it and three twenty foot shafts. Crevice 
 seven and one-half feet wide. Pay vein eighteen to forty inches. 
 
 Wightman and Fay are building a road, at a cost of $40,000, from 
 Silverton down the Animas to the immense coal fields around Animas 
 City, in La Plata County, thirty-live miles south. This coal is chiefly of 
 the very best quality of " lignite," making fine coke. Specimen? from
 
 43 6 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 one deposit were analyzed and tested, in Chicago. They were decided 
 to be anthracite coal. The great reduction works, destined to treat the 
 
 bulk of the ores of the San Juan, will probably be located at Animas, 
 which bids lave to be cue of the leading towns of the State. It is 
 equi-distant from the southern termini of the D. & R. <i. and the Utah 
 
 HAl.ANCING ROCK. 
 
 Southern Railways, and both companies contemplate building this way, 
 where much lower mountains are encountered than further north — so 
 that the coal as well as rich silver deposits may soon be utilized and 
 opened to the world. The route from the Rio Grande road would 
 swing around into the northern borders of New Mexico and then up
 
 COLORADO. 437 
 
 the San Juan and Animas Valleys. Twenty miles south of Silverton 
 the main range turns eastward and breaks away into low mountains at 
 the south. Here are the rich valleys of the Animas, La Plata, Man- 
 cas and San Juan, the lower portions of which flow through the Ute 
 Indian Reservation and then into New Mexico and Arizona. These 
 territories and Utah and Colorado come together at a point in the region 
 of the dead cities of the ancient Aztecs. Already a heavy immigra- 
 tion, from both east and west, has set into the Animas country — eighty 
 families arriving from the latter direction in October. 
 
 The production of the year to November ist, was as follows ; all the result of 
 summer and fall work. 
 
 San Juan county, Green & Co shipped lead bullion valued at $106,000 
 Hinsdale county /Crook &Co. shipped silver ore, bought and 
 
 concentrated 40,000 
 
 Gulch, bar and lode gold and other silver ores shipped. La 
 
 Plata, etc 15,000 
 
 Rio Grande county, Summit mines, stamp mill gold. . . . 65,000 
 
 Gold ores shipped 30.000 
 
 Saguache county, Sangre de Christo range stamp mill and 
 
 gulch gold 10,000 
 
 Total for the season $266,000 
 
 Probable production for remainder of the year $20,000 
 
 Total for 1876 $286,000 
 
 The silver bullion and gold, went east through the banks of San Juan, at Del 
 Norte. The shipments from November till June will be small, and probably cease 
 before January, owing to the ^snows. The product of 1875, was about $55,000 in 
 gold and $50,000 in silver. When nearly $300,000 can be produced in a few months 
 by the limited reducing facilities of the past, it can at once be seen that many times 
 as much will be exported, when all of the works noted in this chapter are in full 
 blast, summer and winter, in 1877-8. 
 
 The Sangre de Christo gold mines are in Saguache county on the western side 
 of this range and on the eastern rim of the San Luis Park. 
 
 The silver mines are mainly on the Pacific slope. And here we 
 close our inadequate sketch of the San Juan country— a region that 
 bids fair to surpass all others on the globe in enormous size and length 
 of its silver bearing veins — a section that remained a terra incog- 
 nita through all the years that other Colorado mining district-, were 
 discovered and developed.
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 FARMING AND STOCK RAISING. 
 
 What is done by Irrigation— The Biggest Crops the World 
 can Produce — Large Profits of Farming and Stock 
 Raising— A Big Ranch— The San Carlos Estate- 
 Some Heavy Stock Men. 
 
 In the rush for gold but little attention was paid during the earlier 
 years to agriculture. As time passed on it was found that the lands 
 bordering the streams and foot hills were wonderfully productive. In 
 time irrigating ditches were found to be a necessity, and these were con- 
 structed. Within the past few years large tracts of land, otherwise 
 worthless, have been rendered available for farming purposes by irriga- 
 tion by means of canals and ditches. In this way hundreds of thous- 
 ands of acres are now producing crops calculated to astonish any 
 Mississippi Valley farmer. Thus Denver, Longmont, Boulder, Fort 
 Collins, Greeley and Pueblo have come to be surrounded with produc- 
 tive farms and gardens and their streets lined with ornamental shade 
 trees. Rich waving fields of grain now greet the eye where once 
 extended the barren and uninhabitable waste. It is an established fact 
 that artificial irrigation produces better and more [reliable crops than can 
 be obtained in countries where the uncertain natural rainfall is depen- 
 ded on. 
 
 The average yield of wheat in Colorado is from twenty to twenty- 
 five bushels per acre, but is often forty and over. This is about double 
 the product obtained in Illinois and neighboring states. Colorado flour 
 is the best in America. It finds a ready sale at superior prices 
 wherever exported. Other small grains yield proportionately well. 
 Corn thrives best in southern Colorado, where the nights are warmer 
 than in the north. Fruit is gradually becoming cultivated. Vegeta- 
 bles of enormous proportions are raised. Farming has often been 
 enormously remunerative. Instances are known where many thous- 
 ands of dollars have been realized on a single crop, and of for- 
 tunes amassed in a very few years. The same is true in a greater
 
 COLORADO. 439 
 
 degree of stock growing. The farmer is to some degree independent 
 of the disadvantages felt at the east. He finds an ever increasing ready 
 cash market in the rapidly growing camps and mining towns of the 
 mountains and business centres of the valleys. The demand is even 
 greater than the supply — for Colorado does not produce farm products 
 enough for the home consumpton of the State. Only a small por- 
 tion of the mountains are capable of cultivation, but irrigation is 
 unnecessary there. There are numberless farms in these mountain val- 
 leys and on the hill sides between the mining towns that pay largely. 
 One man near Central netted $17,000 from a single crop. Although 
 that was an exceptional case it is no uncommon thing to realize 
 two or three thousand dollars over home expenses from small farms 
 all over the country. Prices are always good and farmers on the 
 plains, with fields of wheat containing hundreds of acres, have given 
 much larger returns than the above. Statistics regarding the farm, 
 dairy and stock could be given, but space forbids. One Boulder coun- 
 ty farmer harvested three hundred and twenty acres of wheat — average 
 yield twenty-eight bushels — price per bushel $1 20 — value of 8660 
 bushels $10,752 00. Other crops raised paid for the entire farm 
 expenses excepting $700, leaving over $10,000 as clear profit. 
 
 The following will show how profitable farming and stock growing 
 is in Colorado, and the figures are below rather than above actual 
 results. It represents the operations of an association combining intel- 
 ligence, capital and a large amount of territory already well improved. 
 This territory comprises 50,000 acres of splendid agricultural and 
 grazing lands, and was formerly known as the Nolan Land Grant, 
 bestowed by the Mexican Republic. It is called the San Carlos Estate. 
 The figures and statements are condensed from a paper compiled by 
 Col. Geo. N. Pratt, of the association owning the property. 
 
 The company have forty-four thousand acres of land surrounded by cedar post 
 and four pole fence. The estate is watered by the Tuscoso and San Carlos rivers 
 and a portion is well timbered. The improvements, including the home place, farm 
 house, steam flour and grist mills, stables, granaries, shops, cabins, seven stone corrals 
 barns, stone, cedar and wire fence, farm implements, wagons, reapers, mowers, 
 threshing machines, etc., are valued at $61,100. 
 
 The live stock comprises sheep, cattle and horses — the latter for general use 
 only. 
 
 Catti.1!. Tbe company have on their " range " of pasturage 540 head of good 
 average, American (.attic. The cattle herd will be reduced to 300 choice milch
 
 44° 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 . adding thereto 100 or aoo head of " four year old " steers per annum,— all to 
 be " stall fed." Such a quality of beef is scarce in Colorado, and by this method 
 increased weight and from i'i<> i per cent more per pound live weight, could be 
 obtained. 
 
 -.. 
 
 *K>" 
 
 < \ i i i i. 1 1\ l III-; SAN C HtLOS ES i \ l i . 
 
 Shehp. On December 15, 1876, the company will start with 5,000 Mexican 
 (white 1, 2 and 3 year.old) ewes. These will be crossed for two years with choice 
 Vermont Merino rams, to obtain " staple" or quality of wool, and in the third and
 
 COLORADO. 441 
 
 fourth years with Lincoln Leicestershire rams to give a mutton value, and size and 
 length to staple. 
 
 Statement based on a " start " of 5,000 ewes at $2.00 per head, $10,000. 
 
 The lowest results, as proved by long experience in Colorado with allowance for 
 losses etc. for five years, will be as follows : 
 
 First year — Original stock, ewes 5>°°° 
 
 Increase 73 per cent 3.67^ 
 
 Total number head 8,675 worth $17,350 
 
 Value of wool sold from 5,000 ewes at 3 lbs each is 
 
 15,000 lbs, at 20 cts per pound 3. 000 
 
 Total value $20,350 
 
 The second year increases these 8,675 sheep 65 per cent., to 14,313 head, valued 
 at $28,626; wool crop 4 lbs per head 20 cts. per lb $6,940 ; total, $35,565. 
 
 Third year, Flock increase 58 per cent, gives 22,614 head, worth $45,228 ; wool 
 crop 4%lbs per head, worth $12,881 ; total. $58,109. 
 
 Fourth year, Increase 56 per cent 35,277 head, worth $70,554, Wool 5 lbs per 
 head, $22,614 ; total $93,168. 
 
 Fifth year, Increase, 56 per cent, gives 55,032 head, worth $110,064 : wool crop 
 5 lbs per head $35,276 : total value, $145,340, from which take the necessary expenses 
 of five years, 18 cents per head, or $15,457, leaves a profit of $129,883. 
 
 This statement does not include cost of rams, which on account of their choice 
 quality, are kept by the company in a separate herd, but it does include cost of 
 shepherds, extra hands required at times, and]all other current or incidental expenses. 
 The increase is ifigured at very low rates ; likewise the wool crop. Many Merino 
 rams second cross, return a six-pound fleece. 
 
 Examples are plenty of the large profits attending Colorado sheep culture. In 
 1864 Don Felipe Baca came to Trinidad with 1,000 ewes, and bought 800 more in 
 1865; cost of both flocks $4,500. In eight years 1,600 sheep were consumed on the 
 ranch, and 7,740 were sold for $29,620. He had then on hand 14,800 head, worth 
 $44,400. He had realized $74,020 in eight years on an original investment of $4,500 
 — with an increase of 1.240 per cent, on stock, and of 1,545 per cent, on capital 
 invested, or 193 per cent per annum. In the meantime the price or value of the 
 wool had increased, owing to its improved quality, from 11 cents to 32 cents per 
 pound, and the wool crops paid for herders and all current expenses. This result 
 was obtained by the promiscuous irregular system of sheep grazing without corrals, 
 feed or protection against the disastrous storms of winter and spring. The San 
 Carlos estate has all these advantages which Baca lacked and its 2,000 acres Of 
 cultivated land afford ample feed for stock at the short season of the year when 
 needed. By so doing the " increase " will be greater both in number of sheep and 
 weight of wool. On this estate four rams are allotud to 100 ewes, instead of one to 
 forty as customary. 
 
 Hogs. There are 200 head of hogs, old and young, (Berkshire;. This breed is 
 somewhat scarce in Colorado. Mr. Dotson, the former owner, has turned out 700
 
 442 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 head per annum, raised in tlic oak or acorn Holds, of which there arc 6,ooo acres. 
 About i,aoo head will be turned out per annum hereafter, of an average weight of 
 250 pounds. 
 
 The horse department comprises txo head ol 
 
 tine American marcs and horses. The product ol 
 1S76, is eighteen colts, hy Warhill. sired hy Lexing- 
 ton. Hereafter numbers are to be decreased and 
 the quality improved. There is a three story stone 
 mill — three run of stone — [improved machinery — 
 capacity 60,000 bushels per annum ; also a portable- 
 saw mill. The company produces its own lumber 
 for fencing and building purposes, at an outlay of 
 about six dollars per thousand feet. 
 
 In the farm department there are 2,000 acres 
 enclosed by a "squared" stone wall five feet high, 
 all plowed land and watered by "irrigating ditches. 
 The latter at a cost 
 of $20,000.00. This 
 land has been pro- 
 ducing steadily for 
 eleven years — and 
 gives from 35 to 60 
 bushels of wheat to 
 the acre; and with- 
 out care and culti- 
 vation of the crop 
 35 bushels of corn 
 are raised to the 
 acre Next season 
 1,000 acres will be 
 put in wheat .and 
 500 in corn. Wheat 
 is worth $2.50 per 
 hundred, and flour 
 83.75 at the mill. 
 Corn is used for 
 
 stock feeding purposes. As high as 16,000 bushels of wheat and 12,000 bushels ot 
 corn have been stored away in the granary for a season, when only 800 acres were 
 cultivated. Mexican labor is employed, and twenty-five families have resided on 
 the lands for years. 
 
 The company will inaugurate a trust department in January 1877. T ne plan is to 
 receive funds in trust for five or more years, on such terms as may be agreed on, for 
 which certificates of deposit will be issued. To those wishing to invest in live 
 stock without personal care or attention, sure and rapid dividends are guaranteed. 
 The same is the case, with those who desire to take up a residence on the estate. In 
 such cases a cottage will be furnished at no expense, and supplies, comforts of a 
 home and saddle horses at net cost of production. Those taking charge of their 
 
 ROCKY MOUNTAIN QUAIL — WINTKK AND SUMMER PLUMAGE.
 
 COLORADO. 443 
 
 individual investment will be allowed herders or flock-masters wages. Inviting 
 terms are offered invalids or gentlemen's sons unable or disinclined to construct 
 ditches tor unoccupied lands, or attend to stock growing in person. Here are 50,000 
 acres of fine farming and grazing lands in one of the most beautiful valleys of the 
 state, with unsurpassed climate, location and improvements. When under fair head- 
 way, the plan cannot but result far more beneficially to all concerned than even the 
 lucrative individual efforts in these industries. 
 
 That garden and granary of western Kansas lies just east of Colorado 
 and furnishes a never failing base of supplies. It is a reserve commisa- 
 riat for the Rocky Mountain mining regions. What Colorado valleys and 
 plains fail to produce can speedily be obtained there via the great rail- 
 way lines. There is still much valuable land for pre-emption or recla- 
 mation in Colorado. Further proofs of the profitable character of 
 farming and stock raising can be seen in the following. 
 
 There are some eight or ten millions of acres of land in Colorado 
 that are, or can be made available for agriculture, of which about one- 
 fourth is now under cultivation or is taxable. The Territorial Auditor's 
 report gives the following numbers and values of assessable live stock, 
 in Colorado, as rated some eighteen months ago. The actual value 
 was of course nearly double these figures: 
 
 NO. OF HEAD. ASSESS VALUE. 
 
 Horned Cattle 375,215 *4,973,4°9 
 
 Sheep 424,977 810,243 
 
 Horses 3 8 . 6 5° 1,823,920 
 
 Mules 3,752 249,213 
 
 Swine 2,673 J 3,°26 
 
 Other animals 62,883 
 
 This enumeration was probably somewhat incomplete and the total 
 actual value exceeded #14,000,000, as against #2,245,000 in 1870. 
 The ordinary annual increase — seventy per cent, for cattle and more 
 than that for sheep, and allowing for live stock shipped east— increases 
 the number to 500,000 head, and the sheep to 700,000, with a total 
 value of $8,000,000. The number of horses has also increased greatly, 
 and much fine blooded stock is being imported. The same is true of 
 dairy stock, and thousands of dollars are often expended in choice ani- 
 mals. Most farms comprise one hundred and sixty acres while others 
 are many times that size. Lands have been paid for with the crop <>l 
 a single season. The total farm products of Colorado in 1876 were 
 over 88,000,000 as against $3,000,000 in 1 870.
 
 444 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 Stock growing in Colorado has ever been a sure and remunerative 
 avocation. It has grown in proportions until hundreds of thousands of 
 cattle and sheep are shipped eastward or to the mountains annually. 
 But little care or expense is incurred in this business. The expense of 
 shepherds is small as they are not required in winter. At that season 
 stock are usually allowed to roam at will, on the vast pastoral lands of 
 the plains, and thrive and grow fat on the nutritious grasses that there 
 abound. The natural annual increase of cattle is claimed to be sev- 
 
 1NTEEIOR OF A MEXICAN DWELLING. 
 
 enty-five per cent, and of sheep eighty. But allowing these figures to 
 be fifteen per cent, too high, the reader will see, that, with the small 
 attendant expenses, the profits must be enormous. Men who started 
 with a few hundred head five or ten years ago, now count their thou- 
 sands. Iliff, Hitson the Wilsons and others, among cattle men, and 
 McBride, Baca and others, among sheep growers, are examples. 
 The first named has an immense range of country on the lower Platte, 
 between Greeley and Julesburg, with headquarters, corrals, etc., forty 
 miles from the latter places. He owns 30,000 cattle, worth on an
 
 COLORADO. 445 
 
 average, S18 per head or £540,000. Annual income seventy per cent. 
 — sales last season 5,000 head. He started originally in a small way. 
 The wheat crop of Colorado for 1876 is worth millions of dollars. 
 Even the scattered ranches that cling to the mountain sides or nestle in 
 the valleys of Gilpin and Boulder, yield profits of hundreds of thou- 
 sands of dollars annually. In the former, Henry Paul reaps bountiful 
 harvests at an elevation of over 9,300 feet above sea level. The great 
 parks as well as the plains are dotted with flocks and herds. San Luis 
 Park is as large as the state of Connecticut — all arable and pastoral 
 land — mainly the latter.
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 COLORADO AS A HEALTH AND PLEASURE RESORT. 
 
 Notes for the Tourist, Invalid and Sportsman — How to 
 reach the Mountains of Colorado — Up the Arkansas 
 Valley— The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 
 — The Denver and Bio Grande Railway — The Grand 
 Canon— Colorado Springs and Manitou — Pikes Peak 
 and the Garden of the Gods — Denver— A trip to the 
 Mountains— What can be seen there — Georgetown and 
 ' Central and the Boulder Canon. — Colorado Central 
 Railway. 
 
 The climate of Colorado is unrivalled. The main portion of the 
 country is situated between elevations of 4,200 and 8,600 feet above 
 sea level. Here the extremes of heat and cold are less than in east- 
 ern states of the same latitude. Such is the dry bracing character of 
 the atmosphere that winter weather is not felt as severely as in the 
 damp air of the low lands of the Mississippi valley or of the eastern sea- 
 board. It carries healing in its wings and this is becoming so widely 
 known that Colorado has been very justly termed the world's sanita- 
 rium. Men come here to live whose health will not permit them to 
 remain elsewhere. Here in the midst of the finest scenery the world can 
 produce, the invalid obtains a new lease of life, the tourist finds a world 
 of attractions, and the sportsman a harvest no other land can furnish. 
 As one writer puts it : " It is the only region that combines the sky 
 and climate of Italy, the air and scenery of Switzerland, the water of 
 Ems and the society of nature." Here is an entire country one mile 
 I more or less) above the cold, damp airs of sea level, and the clear dry 
 mountain air has an invigorating effect on the constitution such as no 
 other land can produi <■. 
 
 Hut every variety of climate can be met with within fifty miles 
 travel. After a certain elevation is reached the air grows colder and 
 the snow tails heavier. This is especially true as one approaches the
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 447 
 
 summit of the Snowy Range, the backbone of the American Conti- 
 nent. Once above timber line (11,200 feet) the climate changes 
 almost to that of the frigid zone. Above, winter reigns supreme, while 
 far below the warm sunny valleys revel in an Italian clime. Thus a 
 distance of a few miles from Central or Georgetown, or of fifty miles 
 from Denver brings one to the regions of eternal snow, to be again suc- 
 ceeded by the genial atmosphere of the valleys of western Colorado. 
 For the travelers' benefit some information regarding routes of travel 
 may not be out of place. 
 
 WATEK TANK ON THE A. T. £ S. F. RAILWAY, 
 
 The most pleasant way to reach Colorado is over the Atchison 
 Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, starting at Atchison or Kansas City and 
 passing through Lawrence and Topeka, thence southwesterly into the 
 Arkansas Valley and up the same to Pueblo; thence to Denver. This 
 new southern route is splendidly equipped with Palace Sleepers and all 
 possible comforts. Ii strikes through the garden of America. Roll- 
 ing prairies anil rich bottom lands thickly, dolled with fruitful farms 
 and thriving villages, greet the eye of the traveler on either hand. 
 Through this Arkansas Valley lies the old Santa Fe trail, over which 
 the New Mexican caravans were accustomed to fighl their way when
 
 448 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 the red man alone held sway. The country gradually gains in elevation 
 from the 'Missouri river to Pueblo, the western terminus of the road, 
 
 and to which its western division was completed last winter. The 
 main line is headed for Santa Fe. 
 
 Pueblo and South Pueblo, in reality one city, are on the Arkansas 
 river, one hundred and twenty miles east of south of Denver. Here 
 one can take either fork of the Rio Grande railway, as his inclinations 
 lead him; to Trinidad on the south, Denver on the north, Canon on the 
 west or the San Juan on the south west, via rail to La Veta, and Har- 
 low and Sanderson's stages to Del Norte. This railway center has had 
 
 YZ , ■■> .* 
 
 ■■■■-.-J 
 
 WHAT THEY DO NOT BELIEVE EAST. 
 
 a mushroom growth, but can boast of the usual accompany ments of a 
 growing city, and a daily and two weekly newspapers, a thirty thous- 
 and dollar school edifice and the finest court house in the State. The 
 broad avenues of South Pueblo adorned with beautiful shade trees and 
 handsome residences attest to its wealth and permanence. 
 
 To the south are the counties bordering on New Mexico and mainly 
 peopled by Mexicans. These people were once an important factor in 
 political matters, but since the vast influx of Americans into Colorado 
 they count but a small proportion of the popular vote. Trinidad is the 
 great town of this section. Around it is a fine sheep growing country, 
 and one immensely rich in (coking) coal. The Raton Mountains
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 449 
 
 cross this region. Trinidad, and its port of entry and (D. & R. G. ) 
 railway terminus, El Moro are the shipping points south. Beyond this 
 the freighter has not yet been superceded by the railway, and the 
 •'hull whacker" still flourishes in all his pristine originality. In this 
 
 section, these " sailors of the 
 plains" are mainly of Mexican 
 nationality. This is the supply 
 point for New Mexico and the 
 southwestern military posts. It 
 is a great wool shipping point, 
 likewise of cattle, as are also 
 Las Animas, La Junta and 
 Deer Trail further north. El 
 Moro will retain its immense 
 forwarding houses until the 
 "Iron Trail" pushes further 
 south towards the " Halls of the Montezumas," its ultimate destination. 
 A trip to Canon City and its mineral springs, forty-five miles west 
 of Pueblo, also takes one to the Grand Canon of the Arkansas. This 
 
 MEXICAN WHEELBARROW. 
 
 THE GREASER S LEASURK. 
 
 is a masterpiece of nature's handiwork. Here the mountains rise 
 abruptly from the plain to the heighth of thousands of feet. For miles 
 the Arkansas dashes between perpendicular granite walls 2000 feet 
 high, that shutout the sunlight completely, and at points, almost close 
 28
 
 45o 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 al»i\c it. The view down this enormous chasm is no where equalled 
 except in the far away canons of the Colorado and Gunnison. The 
 Arkansas river ragesand foams so far below, that from this di/zy hcighth 
 it resembles a tiny thread of silver. Although impassible, save when 
 winter weaves its icen bands across the waters, the Arkansas Valley 
 Company have taken advantage of that time to make a survey of this 
 canon for another Pacific railway. The brink of the canon is reached 
 by a winding road around the mountain sides. 
 
 ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP — V. S. SIGNAL STATION— PIKE S PEAK. 
 
 Colorado Springs is considered the prettiest town in Colorado, stand- 
 ing as it does on an artificially watered plateau and embowered with 
 countless thousands of shade trees — all planted since the birth of the 
 town in 1 87 1. But it can hardly be called a tow^n, for it has risen to 
 the dignity of an incorporated city, with newspapers, banks, churches 
 and squares of business blocks in goodly numbers. It has one of the
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 45 j 
 
 finest public school buildings in the state. It is in full view of and but 
 a few miles from the mountains. The Garden of the Gods sits 
 enthroned just within the foot hills and is so deserving of its name 
 that it alone is worth a trip across the plains to see. Above all, thc- 
 cloud-capped summit of Pike'.> Peak towers in lonely grandeur, ovei 
 sea of plain and mountain, a mile and a half above the lovely valley 
 • >f Manitou and 14,146 feet above sea level. The view from the moun 
 
 GRACE GKKKNWOOn'S COTTAKK — MANITOU. 
 
 tain top amply repays one for the few miles of travel required to r 
 it. It is the nearest to the plains of any prominent peak, and can be 
 seen for one hundred and fifty miles. The clearness of Colorado's 
 atmosphere permits of an immense scope of vision — a fact that attracts 
 the attention of every visitor from other climes. On the summit of 
 Pike is a United States signal station connected with Colorado Springs
 
 45^ COLORADO. 
 
 by telegraph being the most elevated institutions of the kind in thi 
 world. Thus within a few mile I almost every known 
 
 description of clim 
 
 ■• Bi h i"'. the] • '.-. the now i loud I 
 By many an icy horn ; 
 
 . » ood embossed, 
 And green with vines and corn." 
 
 Around the enchanting vale of Manitou arc- a su( I beatiti 
 
 ful parks, charmi ro> i and fieri , loftj cliffs, deep cul ravin* 
 
 yawning chasms. Among the wonders that claim the attention of the 
 or arc tin- Garden of the Gods, Glen Eyrie, Cheyenne Cation, Ute 
 Pass and the Falls of the Fontaine This Saratoga of the West has a 
 number of. first-class hotels that afford every accommodation known to 
 eastern houses. Thousands of tourists and invalids visit these beauti 
 fal town- annually to partake of the health giving waters of Manitou, 
 to breathe that inspiring air that only Colorado can furnish. As 
 one w fit- r expresses it : 
 
 " Here under the walls of Paradise, far from either ocean, the asthmatic feel the 
 aerial influences at once. The debilitated are spurred by an invisible hand. There 
 is no dew at night. The moon looks kindly down through a crystalline sky, and the 
 sun shines with an Italian effulgence. The town lies under the mountains on a 
 sunny plain. The ice-cold streams from the snow covered peaks bubble through 
 the streets, and irrigate the fields. There is no winter as the dweller on the Atlantic 
 coast has known it, and no summer as he has learned to dread it, but an equable, 
 eternal spring. The mornings do not chill him, nor the evenings chase him with 
 unkindly breath within doors. All the airy influences of Nature are benificent and 
 tender, and a new electrical stimulus spurs him into activity." 
 
 Ii is so with all localities in Colorado, from Idaho Springs in the 
 mountains, down to the cities of the plains. 
 
 The 1 i I South Park Railway is in operation as far as Mor- 
 
 rison, and just within the foot hills, and is being extended up Platte 
 Canon towards Fairplay. From Morrison, Canon or Colorado Springs 
 the South i aes are reached by means of the South Park 
 
 e lines of Spottswood & McClellan. These two lines are finely 
 equi] re the various Barlow and Sanderson lines, which strike 
 
 h and west from the three southern Rio Grande termini. They 
 comprise the usually traveled routes to the San Juan region. 
 
 From the "Springs" this great north and south line takes up
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 453 
 
 over the "Divide'' through El Paso and Douglas counties to Colora- 
 do's great commercial metropolis and railway centre, Denver. The 
 hotels of Denver are of a character befitting a city which is visited by 
 
 GARDEN OF THE GODS. 
 
 the celebrities of all states and nations. The Grand Central wears an 
 appearance of elegance and comfort that would do honor to an eastern 
 metropolis. To the west a panoramic view of surpassing grandeur
 
 454 COLORADO. 
 
 unfolds itself in the two hundred miles of mountains surmounted by 
 the snow white peaks of the snowy range. 
 
 No visit to Colorado is complete that does not take the mountains 
 in its programme. As well might one make a tour of the sea board 
 without seeing New York. This novel and interesting feature of the 
 excursion can be made via the Colorado Central Railway. Sixteen 
 iinles brings one to Golden and the gate of the mountains. Here the 
 road change; to narrow gauge and strikes through Clear Creek canon 
 among some of the grandest scenery of the mountains. Par above it 
 the granite crags rise almost perpendicularly. 
 
 Up the steep grade of one hundred feet per mile and often more, 
 the iron rails wind in and around the ragged, cragged cliffs, where it 
 would seem almost an impossibility for a locomotive to go. Sharp 
 curves and turns are of constant occurrence, and often the way seems 
 walled up in front, so close and narrow is the defile. 
 
 Twenty-one miles over this road brings one to Black Hawk, 2,200 
 feet above the mouth of the canon. In mountain defiles and above 
 them, are the cities of Black Hawk and Central, and the great gold 
 mines of Colorado. The first sight of these mountain towns is not 
 easily forgotten. Far up the giddy slopes hang cottages seemingly 
 ready to topple one upon another. In the ravines below are busy bust- 
 ling streets, lined with quartz teams and all manner of vehicles. A 
 main thoroughfare three miles in length winds among these granite 
 hills, whose interiors are honeycombed with shafts, levels and tunnels. 
 Beside the muddy, turbid stream, lofty chimneys of huge smelting 
 works are always burning. Beyond are stamp mills, whose stamps 
 thunder and rattle with never ceasing industry. Night and day the 
 same work goes on unintermittingly, week after week, year after year. 
 It is a novel sight, these cities built at the top of the shafts and mouths 
 of the tunnels which lead to the treasures of the mines below and on 
 either hand. Down in the depths, hundreds of feet from the sunlight, 
 are other cities less habitable but equally active. Here by the dim 
 candle light hundreds of men wield the drill, pick and shovel, delving 
 for the hidden wealth of centuries. These mines beneath the city help 
 to swell the millions that steadily find their way into the channels of 
 commerce. 
 
 A first-class omnibus line transfers the passengers from the railway
 
 COLORADO. 45 5 
 
 station up through a mile of stores, dwellings, mills and mines to the 
 business centre, and to one of the finest hotels in the west. From the 
 Teller House one looks over a city whose growth is due entirely to its 
 veins of gold, and whose prosperity is as enduring as the everlasting 
 hills that surround it. From James and Buell's Peaks, ten miles away, 
 a splendid view of nearly half of Colorado can be obtained. 
 
 ____ Six miles south of Central is 
 
 Idaho Springs, a lovely watering 
 place and worthy of an extended 
 visit. Georgetown is fourteen miles 
 beyond. Its charming surround- 
 ings have been previously noted. 
 Both places are reached by the 
 Colorado Company's stages^which 
 afford connection with Central, 
 and also with the south branch of 
 the Colorado Central railway, 
 which leaves the Black Hawk 
 mountain erook. line at the junction of North and 
 
 South Clear Creeks. Between these streams is a dividing ridge 
 2,500 feet in heighth, and crossed by a stage road through Vir- 
 ginia canon. There are many points of interest about Georgetown, 
 from the great silver mines, mills and tunnels to Green Lake and Gray's 
 Peak. This majestic mountain " the Dome of the Continent," rises 
 14,341 feet above sea level, and affords a view of surpassing grandeur. 
 To the east, below and beyond the foot hills, extend the plains, as level 
 and as boundless as the ocean. North and south rise countless peaks, 
 that rear their billowy crests like storm-tossed sea waves. Below and 
 to the west are the elysiums Middle Park and the valleys of the Blue 
 and Snake. Beyond all, and one hundred and fifty miles away, the blue- 
 outlines of the mountains of Utah are visible. 
 
 The tourist should in no event fail to make the circuit from Denver 
 to Central or Georgetown and Boulder and return. This can be made 
 by the rail and stage routes above enumerated, and then by stage across 
 the mountains, or by taking the plains division of the Colorado Central 
 to Boulder. From this enterprising city, which nestles at the foot of the 
 mountains, the mines can be reached by W. & L. Smith's line of fine
 
 456 COLORADO. 
 
 Concord coaches. The main route extends through that grandest of 
 
 all northern canons, that of the Boulder, and thence to Caribou and 
 Central. The beauty and grandeur of this wonderful creation of 
 nature alone repays the expense and trouble of the entire trip. 
 
 The Colorado Central Railway comprises eighty-nine miles of road, 
 and branches will soon be extended to (Georgetown and to Ralston. 
 Its three termini are Black Hawk, Floyd Hill and Longmont. it 
 enters the most productive mining districts of the mountains, and the 
 fertile farming sections of Jefferson and Boulder counties. The officers 
 of this very profitable enterprise are, President, W. A. H. Loveland; 
 Superintendent, O. H. Henry; Assistant Superintendent, (lias. S. 
 Abbott; Treasurer J. C. Hummell; Auditor, Foster Nichols; Secretary 
 and Engineer, E. L. Berthoud; Cashier, Wm, Armor. II. M. Teller 
 was president for five years, and W. A. II. Loveland, vice-president. 
 They were the leading spirits in projecting and securing the con-, 
 struction of this great Colorado enterprise. 
 
 Among the charming retreats of the mountains are Fall River and 
 the beautiful valley of South Boulder. At these places are good hotels, 
 line scenery and excellent hunting and fishing. There are over 600 
 acres of tillable and meadow land along the South Boulder, at and 
 near Rollinsville. It is in the line of the Central and Caribou road, 
 and the starting point of the Rollinsville and Middle Park wagon 
 road. 
 
 Denver, the "Queen City of tin- Plains," and the state capital, is 
 located on a plateau that inclines gradually towards the Platte River 
 and the Mountains. It is the best built, and most attractive city 
 between Saint Louis and San Francisco. It has grown, within a few 
 years, from the wilderness to lie the metropolis of one thousand miles 
 >>( plain and mountain. There is a life and activity about its broad 
 and handsome thoroughfares, that charms the stranger and convinces 
 him that he is among an exceptionally wide-awake and enterprising 
 people. Long streets and avenues, thickly bordered with beautiful shade 
 trees and elegant residences, handsome gardens and pretty cottages, 
 extend in all directions from the business centre. 
 
 The population of Denver is made up from all states, and almost 
 every nation. It is claimed to be the fastest town in America. It is
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 457 
 
 the metropolis of a thriving state and of the'great Rocky Mountain gold 
 and silver mining region. It is the point of arrival and departure to' 
 and from northern and central Colorado. Consequently it is visited by 
 thousands of people who come in search of business, health, pleasure 
 or a fortune. 
 
 1 J Ifsi! 
 
 CLIFF HOUSE — MANITOU. 
 Six railroads centre here, connecting with stage lines to all impor- 
 tant parts of the state that are devoid of railway facilities. Religious and 
 educational institutions of every variety and of the first order are met 
 with, and are endowed with greater liberality than in the east. Large 
 number-, of wealthy men, from all sections, make this their home on
 
 458 COLORADO. 
 
 account of its many attractions, business opportunities or health-restor- 
 ing climate. The population has increased from 4,759 in 1 870 to 
 over 21,000 in 1876. The actual property valuation shows an equal 
 advancement and already approaches #19,000,000. There are nine 
 banks, four daily and five weekly newspapers, street railways, water- 
 works, and the usual public library, fire department, fire alarm tele- 
 graph, gas works, excellent hotels and other conveniences and improve- 
 ments of first class cities. There are twenty churches, some of them 
 elegant structures, worth altogether $200,000. Five handsome school 
 buildings, seating 2,500 pupils and valued at $200,000 — the High 
 School alone costing $80,000. 
 
 The Denver Board of Trade report for 1875, prepared by the secre- 
 tary, Geo. T. Clark, has the following: " Banking capital $1,135,000, 
 bullion handled 5,000,000, deposits $3,000,000. Business of the 
 Denver Post Office $1,083,408.93; value of money orders issued 
 $151,501.43. Lands entered under the homestead act in Denver land 
 office 77,412 acres. Pre-emptions in 1875, 240,150 acres. Amount of 
 real estaie sales, $3,122,429.11; manufactures $2,535,652. Sales of 
 the Denver Mining Stock Board, $184,487.75. Number of passengers 
 transported by Denver City (street) Railway, 540,000. Number cloudy 
 days in the year, 19; of days when rain or snow fell, 100; total rain 
 fall 17.24 inches. 
 
 A branch of the United States mint is located here, being practically 
 a goverment assay office. An effort is being made to have it converted 
 into a branch mint of coinage. The location is superior^to all others. 
 Denver is the direct port of entry to the rich mining districts of Colo- 
 rado, and is more centrally located [than any other for the immense 
 region extending from British America to Mexico, and from Nevada 
 to the Great Plains, and which produces nearly $20,000,000 annually. 
 The gold and silver regions of Montana, Wyoming, the Black Hills, 
 Utah and New Mexico would be tributary to the institution, if located 
 here. Prof. Schirmer, manager of the Denver mint, gives a state- 
 ment of the business transacted from the beginning of 1864 to the 
 close of 1875, which shows a total of $8,426,015.82. Where only a 
 small portion of the bullion produced in these mountains goes east 
 through that quarter now, the entire amount would probably find iti 
 way there, if it became a mint of coinage.
 
 COLORADO. 459 
 
 There are more handsome and substantial business blocks, and 
 attractive and costly private residences in Denver, than in any other 
 city of its age and size east or west. The annual trade amounts to 
 520,000,000 per annum. Over a million dollars have been invested 
 in buildings in a single year. One wholesale grocery firm does a 
 business of 51,250,000 per annum, and there are two dry goods houses 
 whose combined sales approach Si, 000,000. The Swansea Smelting 
 works have been operated at intervals, this fall, by the Balbachs of 
 eastern notoriety. The West Denver Dry Ore Reduction works, chlo- 
 rination and lixiviation, are treating ores principally from Clear Creek 
 County. 
 
 The immense region between the Missouri river and the Mount- 
 ains rises toward the west at the rate of ten feet per mile. Kansas 
 City is only 560 feet above the sea, while Pueblo is 4,400 and Denver 
 5,317. Kansas is 400 miles long. The eastern half is a magnificent 
 farming country, composed^'of rolling prairie, low hills and river bot- 
 toms. Then conies 350 miles of Kansas and Colorado plains — dry 
 and barren, except along the streams, but excellent grazing lands. 
 
 In Switzerland the/regions of eternal snow begin at 6,500 feet 
 above the sea; in Colorado at 10,000 or 11,000. 
 
 All of the Indians that formerly infested^ the plains of Colorado 
 and Kansas are now moved to reservations in the distant Indian Ter- 
 ritory. The Ute Indian tribe which has always been friendly with the 
 whites, are located on a reservation in the far western part of Colo- 
 rado, beyond the mountain ranges, and at a distance from the white 
 settlements. They number altogether about 6,00c souls. 
 
 A sure omen of the future prosperity of Denver, is the fact that her 
 citizens are taking a greater interest than ever before in the mines, and 
 are using their best efforts to develop this important element of the 
 wealth of the State. All wild-cat sales of mines are severely discoun- 
 tenanced, and active measures arc in progress to restore the confidence 
 of eastern capitalists, which was nearly or quite destroyed by the 
 result of their early investments in Colorado. With the advent of the 
 capital needed to open the mines to paying condition, Denver, which 
 is the natural entrepot to all the mining districts in the State, as well as 
 the most convenient market for the ores^cannot fail to be enriched from 
 the wealth which lies at her dooi
 
 460 COLORADO. 
 
 An important outgrowth of this improved sentiment in regard to 
 mining sales is the Equitable Mining Agency of Colorado, an institu- 
 tion inaugurated in 1875, by a number of leading citizens of Denver. 
 This agency takes leases of selected mines with a bond for a deed at a 
 fixed price, and by working the property under the lease, tests the feas- 
 ability of purchase at the bonded price. The patrons of the agency 
 (generally residing at a distance from Colorado) furnish the funds 
 for the work of development and for the purchase — the Agency reserv- 
 ing merely an interest in the lease and property for its commission and 
 expenses. Beneficial results have already attended the efforts of the 
 agency, and it is not difficult to predict for it a most important influ- 
 ence in effecting the public-spirited purposes for which it was estab 
 lished. 
 
 The sportsman finds his richest rewards on the high, level plateaus 
 and among the Sierras, beyond the Mississippi. The mountains abound 
 in deer, elk, mountain sheep and more dangerous game, in such quan- 
 tities that the "best shots" from the east, and from over the water, 
 come to tarry among them. On the plains the antelope is found, and im- 
 mense herds of Buffalo roam from the Platte to the Arkansas. Splen- 
 did trout fishing is afforded, by the thousand clear and sparkling creeks 
 and rivulets that thread their way through mountain, park and valley.
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 THE MINES OF COLORADO— RECORD OF FIVE YEARS. 
 COAL, SALT, IRON AND COPPER MINES. 
 
 Profits of Colorado Mining — Superior chances for Invest- 
 ment — Mining Compared with other Speculations— 
 Bullion Yield of the Country— Colorado's Oold and 
 Silver Product. 
 
 It has been the design of this work to give a plain unvarnished 
 statement of the varied resources of Colorado, and the opportunities 
 that await the judicious investment of capital in this highly favored 
 commonwealth. Errors have occasionally crept into these pages, but 
 they are of a trifling character. Taken as a whole the facts and fig- 
 ures contained herein, and obtained with the expenditure of no little 
 time, labor and money, are correct and reliable. They show what 
 has already been accomplished, and what is morally sure to be effected 
 hereafter. They show that Colorado mines offer surer and bett,er 
 returns for capital than the more favored classes of investments have 
 ever done. 
 
 From first to last over seventy thousand miles of railway have been 
 constructed within the United States. It is a well known fact that 
 companies controlling nearly fifty thousand miles of these roads, are 
 defaulters in payment of interest on their bonds. Furthermore, R. G. 
 Dunn & Co.'s Mercantile Agency shows that the business failures in 
 the United States have aggregated $672,000,000, within the past three 
 years. From this discouraging condition of affairs the reader's atten- 
 tion is called to the record of Colorado mines. 
 
 Gilpin county shows that the gold mines of that district gave a 
 return equal to $1,300 for every man employed therein or in any way 
 connected therewith, during the year 1875. Mount Lincoln and Sum- 
 mit Monntain districts did even better. In the decade of silver min- 
 ing about Georgetown and Idaho, the total amount of capital expended
 
 462 COLORADO. 
 
 in mills and machinery, valuable and worthless, in the purchase of 
 mines and in development of all kinds, has not exceeded $2,250,000. 
 Add to this the total value of all labor, individual and of linns 
 or companies, expended Oil mines and the result falls far short of 
 00,000. Here are $7,250,000 in capital and labor expended. 
 The bullion reports show that these districts, or Clear ('reek County, 
 returned SS, 657,718. 80 in the same period, of which nearly $8,000,000 
 was obtained in the past five years. The work thai has been done on 
 the mines has developed them so that they can, at the lowest calcula- 
 tion, give a clear profit of 15 per cent, on the above expenditure, while 
 the actual value, with mills and improvements, must exceed $12,000,000. 
 This shows a net gain over all expenditures of $13,407,718.80. It 
 must be remembered that these figures include worthless mines and 
 expenditures. The better classes of property make a far better show 
 ing. it must also be remembered that the mines have just been 
 brought into a fair condition for production so thai their future records 
 will usually be much better than those of the past. These facts are 
 given to show how much better the laborer and capitalist is rewarded 
 here than in the average avenues of speculation at the east. The bet- 
 ter classes of mines usually pay at the rate of twenty per cent, per 
 annum, more or less, on all moneys invested, and over all Current 
 expenses, and even fifty per cent, is occasionally reported. These facts 
 go to show that mining, in Colorado, gives surer and better chances 
 for the speedy accumulation of wealth than any calling at the cast ; 
 and the same may be said in regard to farming and stock growing. 
 
 What follows should be carefully read as jt comprises, in a con 
 densed form, the yield of Colorado mines, for the past five years, as 
 well as other valuable information. 
 
 The combined gold and silver product of the United States west of the Missis- 
 sippi, together with British Columbia, has been reported by Wells, Fargo & Co.'s 
 bullion superintendent as follows : 
 
 1869 Bullion product $61,500,000 
 
 1870 66,000,000 
 
 1871 66,653,000 
 
 1872 63,943,857 
 
 1873 71,642,523 
 
 1874 72,428,206 
 
 1875 80,889,037
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 463 
 
 Below is thesamc superintendent's (John J. Valentine,) report for 1875 by states 
 and territories. 
 
 Nevada, (silver and gold,) $40,478,369 
 
 California, (gold,) 17,752,151 
 
 Colorado, (silver and gold,} 6,299,817 
 
 Utah, (silver,) 5,687,494 
 
 Montana, (nearly all gold,) 3.573.609 
 
 Mexico, (silver) 2,408,671 
 
 British Columbia 1,776,953 
 
 Idaho 1,554,902 
 
 Oregon 1,165,046 
 
 Arizona 109,093 
 
 Washington 81,932 
 
 Total $80,889,037 
 
 COLORADO'S BULLION PRODUCT FOR FIVE YEARS. 
 
 In 1875, Colorado ranked next after Nevada and California in the production of 
 the precious metals. There is every reason to believe she will maintain this posi- 
 tion up to the time when she surpasses her older sisters. 
 
 A statement is herewith given of the yield of the mines of Colorado, for the 
 past five years. The figures for 1872-3-4 are from Raymond's annual reports ; 
 those for 1875, by the author — likewise the estimates of 1876, which are based on 
 figures already received. Owing to the great fall in the price of silver in the first 
 half of the year, and other causes in'one or two districts, the silver yield of Colo- 
 rado will be $1,000,000 less for 1876, than it would have been, had silver .maintained 
 its former or even present value : 
 
 COUNTIES. 
 
 1873- 
 
 1874. 
 
 Gilpin, . . . 
 Clear Creek, 
 Park, . . . 
 Boulder, . . 
 Fremont, . . 
 Lake, . . 
 Summit, . . 
 San Juan region, 
 Other sections, . 
 
 Total, 
 
 1,389,289 00 1,530,000 00 1,631,863 00 
 I ,503,39 I 43 ' l , 2 S9>7 ( ' 1 062,203,947 97 
 
 459,000 00 596,392 00 
 
 300,000 00 1 390,000 00 586,522 00 
 
 23,516 00 
 
 145,000 00 
 126,188 00 
 25,383 00 
 2 3>5 12 °3 
 
 120,000 00 
 125,000 00 
 
 110,000 00 
 125,000 00 
 
 1,223,784 57 346,5oi 94 
 
 1,763,985 48 2 
 2,064,863 00! i 
 830,860 00 
 767,000 00 
 342,000 00 
 120,940 00 
 142,000 00 
 105,000 00 
 163,168 52 
 
 ,240,000 00 
 ,900,000 00 
 900,000 00 
 700,000 00 
 100,000 00 
 160,000 00 
 
 160.000 00 
 
 286.1 00 00 
 150,000 00 
 
 |$4, 661,465 004,020, 263 00 5,362,383 0016,299,817 0016,596,000 00 
 
 The columns for 1872-3-4 represent coin value, that for 1875, currency value, 
 with gold at $1.16; that for 1876, currency value, with gold as $1.10. 
 
 The yield of 1874 was as follows : 
 
 Silver, ("with some gold in matte; $3,086,023 
 
 Gold 2,102,487 
 
 Copper 100,197 
 
 Lead 73,676 
 
 Total >5,362,383 
 
 Of the above gold, $382,500, was from placer workings.
 
 464 COLORADO. 
 
 The yield for 1875, is estimated at $3,200,000 in gold, ^3,250,000 in silver and 
 not far from $146,000 in copper and lead, or $6,596,000 altogether. 
 
 The yield for 1875 was as follows ; 
 
 Silver $3,532,373 
 
 Gold 2,627,444 
 
 Copper, about 90,000 
 
 Lead about 50,000 
 
 Total $6,299,817 
 
 There is every prospect that the mines of Colorado will produce $5,000,000 in 
 silver, and $4,000,000 in gold in the year 1877. 
 
 COAL. 
 
 The largest producing coal fields at present, are the Boulder Valley, 
 Canon City, Trinidad, Murphy, Ralston, Davidson, Rob Roy, Golden, 
 and others. Nearly every county bordering the mountains has splen- 
 did coal deposits, many of them as large and valuable as these. The 
 total coal production of Colorado has aggregated 1,000,000 tons or 
 over, and for 1876 only, over 300,000 tons, worth $750,000 at the 
 mines, or $1,200,000 in Denver. Estimated total production, in tons, 
 of coal banks since opened; Boulder Valley (Erie) 340,000; Murphy, 
 150,000; Golden, Marshall and Arkansas each 100,000. There are 
 many newly found coal veins. 
 
 Colorado coal is a superior quality of lignite, excepting a few veins 
 on the Animas and Gunnison, which is anthracite, ninety-one per cent, 
 carbon. There are fine coking coals at Trinidad, on White River 
 and in San Juan. The Trinidad coal has from 57 to 64 per cent, of 
 Carbon; White River, 85. Other coals have from 51 to 57 per cent, 
 carbon. The coal mines were not generally worked until 1872-5. 
 
 SALT. 
 
 There is a rich salt mine that has been worked extensively, in the 
 South Park. 
 
 IRON AND COPPER 
 
 Is found in various localities, but most extensively in Fremont County. 
 Likewise petroleum and marble. 
 
 NOTES FOR THE READER. 
 
 The figures given in this book, excepting estimates, can be depended on as accu- 
 rate. In this they differ from most newspaper " mining items." Furthermore, 
 nothing is claimed for one county that belongs to another. Great care has been 
 taken in this respect regarding Gilpin, ClearCreek, Park and Boulder counties.
 
 COLORADO. 465 
 
 While the mines of Gilpin county produced only §1,763,985, in 1875, the ship- 
 ments were over $3, 800,000 — the excess coming from ores of other counties sent to 
 Black Hawk for smelting. 
 
 About 60,000 lodes have already been discovered in Colorado and probably as 
 many more will yet be found. Of course only a small portion are well opened with 
 deep shafts or tunnels. It is possible in this work to mention only those that are 
 producing well just at this time, and not all those, even, are included. The bonanza 
 or king lodes of Colorado, are possibly yet to be developed or discovered. 
 
 After the earlier years the mining laws of Congress and the territory were so 
 changed as to allow a discoverer 1,400 feet on a vein with a width of surface ground 
 of 25 feet on each side of the centre of the vein. For a short time the length was 
 increased to 3,000 ; then the present rule was adopted, allowing the discoverer 1,500 
 feet in length on a vein— extensions taken up in the same manner. In 1874 the Col- 
 orado legislature increased the width of ground allowed, from the centre each side of 
 the vein, to 150 feet, except in Boulder, Gilpin, Clear Creek, and Park counties, 
 where it was restricted to 75 feet on each side. None of these laws affect, or can 
 conflict with discoveries made prior to their adoption. 
 
 A ton of gold or silver contains 29.166% ounces (troy). Pure gold is worth 
 $20.67 (coin) an ounce, $602,875 per ton. At the present time pure silver is worth 
 $1.16% per ounce, or $32,812.39 per ton, coin value. Colorado will have produced 
 about 6 tons of pure gold and 90 tons of pure silver in 1876. The coin of commerce 
 is composed of only nine-tenths of pure gold or silver. 
 
 The total valuation of real, and personal property in Colorado, exceeds 
 $75,000,000. This does not include mines which are worth as much more, and 
 which the State Constitution protects from taxation for ten years. 
 
 In the first line of page 464 the figures 1875 should read 1876. 
 
 COLORADO'S GOLD AND SILVER YIELD. 
 
 The following is the bullion product of Colorado for the past seventeen years, 
 or from the time of the first gold discoveries down to the years 1876-7 : 
 
 COIN VALUE. CURRENCY VALUE. 
 
 1859 $ 200,000 
 
 i860 1,000,000 
 
 1861 2,500,000 
 
 1862 4,400,000 , 
 
 1863 4,000,000 
 
 1864 5,000,000 
 
 1865 4,262,000 
 
 1866 2,000,000 
 
 1867 2,200,000 
 
 1868 2,300,000 
 
 1869 3,800,000 
 
 1870 .... • 3.675. 000 
 
 1871 3,600,000 
 
 1872 3,785,220 
 
 1873 4,070,000 
 
 1874 5,362.000 
 
 1875 5,486,742 
 
 Total, $57,641,345 $64,846,513.66 
 
 j 876, f estimated) 6.000,000 6,600,000,00 
 
 Grand Total, $63,641,345 $7'.592.4",74 
 
 29
 
 466 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 The total yield of K°'<l all( i silver, in Colorado, from the first discoveries, down 
 to 1876, a period of 17 years, was $57,641,345.48 coin value or $64,846,513.66, at a 
 currency value of $l.ia%. The year 1876, will add about $6,000,000 to the coin 
 value, or $6,600,000 to the currency value of the above. 
 
 COLORADO RAILWAYS. 
 
 Kansas Pacific, 210 
 
 Arkansas Valley Branch, K. P. R. W 76 
 
 Atchison, Topcka & Santa Fe 150 
 
 Denver A Rio Grande, 269 
 
 Denver Pacific, 100 
 
 Colorado Central, 89 
 
 Boulder Valley, 39 
 
 Denver & South Park 17 
 
 Total, 950 
 
 Two hundred miles of railway were constructed within the past year and as 
 much more will be in 1877. 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 Counties and county seats, and area of and estimated population of counties 
 November, 1876- 
 
 TOTAL VOTE AREA IN ESTIMATED 
 OCT. 3 '76 SQ MILES I POPULATION 
 
 (.OIINTY SEAT 
 
 Arapahoe . . 
 Bent . . . . 
 Boulder . . . 
 Clear Creek . 
 Conejos . . . 
 Costilla . . . 
 Douglas . . . 
 Elbert . . . . 
 El Paso . . . 
 Fremont . . . 
 Gilpin . . . . 
 Grand . . . . 
 Hinsdale . . . 
 Huerfano . . . 
 Jefferson . . . 
 
 Lake 
 
 Larimer . . . 
 La Plata . . . 
 Las Animas . 
 
 Park 
 
 Pueblo .... 
 Rio Grande. . 
 Saguache . . 
 San Juan. . . 
 Summit . . . 
 Weld 
 
 3,968 
 
 4,800 
 
 689 
 
 9,126 
 
 2.635 
 
 792 
 
 2,103 
 
 437 
 
 559 
 
 2,558 
 
 524 
 
 ',685 
 
 615 
 
 83 i 
 
 201 
 
 6,030 
 
 1, no 
 
 2,628 
 
 1,053 
 
 2,268 
 
 1,768 
 
 158 
 
 220 
 
 10,381 
 
 820 
 
 1,404 
 
 1,024 
 
 1,584 
 
 1,134 
 
 792 
 
 463 
 
 13,576 
 
 674 
 
 1,825 
 
 158 
 
 i,755 
 
 1,940 
 
 9,072 
 
 888 
 
 2,222 
 
 1,282 
 
 2,412 
 
 726 
 
 ',332 
 
 495 
 
 3,3 12 
 
 803 
 
 2,405 
 
 386 
 
 2,148 
 
 1,251 
 
 10,494 
 
 I 104,500 
 
 Denver. 
 
 West Las Animas. 
 
 Boulder. 
 
 Georgetown. 
 
 Guadaloupe. 
 
 San Luis. 
 
 Castle Rock. 
 
 Middle Kiowa. 
 
 Colorado Springs. 
 
 Canon City. 
 
 Central City. 
 
 Hot Sulphur Springs. 
 
 Lake City. 
 
 Walsenburg. 
 
 Golden. 
 
 Granite. 
 
 Fort Collins. 
 
 Parrott City. 
 
 Trinidad. 
 
 Fairplay, 
 
 Pueblo. 
 
 Del Norte. 
 
 Saguache. 
 
 Silverton. 
 
 Breckcnridge. 
 
 Evans. 
 
 131,600
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 467 
 
 EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 Owing to the transitory character of the population, the public schools did not 
 receive as much attention in the decade prior to 1870, as they have since. Still they 
 excelled those of most western territories, and were liberally endowed in the larger 
 towns. Several excellent private academies and sectarian schools had been estab- 
 lished however. 
 
 IIK;il SCHOOL — DENVER. 
 
 In 1871, there were 160 schools, 7,742 persons of school age, of whom 4,357 were 
 
 enrolled, and 80 school houses, worth $82,574, and $44,148.95 were paid for teachers. 
 
 Great advancement was made from that time forward. Soon after, Professor 
 
 H. M. Hale became Superititcndant of public Instruction in the territory. His soul 
 
 was in his work, and his energy and abilities brought the system up to a high state
 
 468 COLORADO. 
 
 of efficiency. His report for 1875, shows that the receipts of the school funds were 
 $347,1791 expenditures for buildings $76,215, expenditures of all kinds, $710,813,86; 
 Number of school houses 178, value $414,008 ; school population, 23,274, number of 
 teachers, 377 ; average salary, males '$60 per month, females #48 ; increase in per 
 cent, of school houses 18, pupils 20 ; value of school property 21. 
 
 In 1876, Professor Hale induced the Territorial Legislature to pass a bill for a 
 school law, modeled after the best systems of the east, and now Colorado is in no 
 way behind any of her eastern sisters in this respect. The law is a very efficient 
 one and provides for the best classes of teachers and every other requirement for pub- 
 lic school instructio'i of the best character. No people east or west are so liberal in 
 regard to public schools and the instruction'of the young, as Colorado. There arc 
 graded schools in all the leading towns and cities, and high schools where the pupil 
 can prepare for a collegiate course. 
 
 The people through their legislature have secured the establishment of a State 
 University at Boulder, an Agricultural College at Fort Collins, a School of Mines 
 at Golden, and a Deaf Mute Institute at Colorado Springy. The State University 
 has the finest building and grounds in the State, ready for occupation, 
 
 There are several private and sectarian academies and seminaries at Denver, 
 Central, Trinidad, Pueblo and elsewhere. 
 
 About 3,000 pupils are enrolled in the schools of Arapahoe county, of which 
 nearly all are within the limits of Denver. In 1876, District Number One of this 
 city had 1,988 pupils enrolled. Of these 1,013 were in the primary departments, 
 475 in the intermediate, 396 in the grammar, and 104 in the high school. Cost per 
 capita of pupils enrolled, $16.70. Cost per month of tuition, per capita, $1.97. 
 
 THE STATE SCHOOL OF MINES. 
 
 The State School of Mines is located at Golden. The legislature of 
 1870 appropriated $3,872 towards erecting a building for this purpose, 
 to be attached to the collegiate institution known as Jarvis Hall, and 
 trustees were appointed to carry out the design. The building was 
 completed in 1871. The following year Bishop Randall, who had 
 charge of the adjoining school provided the necessary apparatus for 
 the scientific, assaying and other departments. A legislative appro- 
 priation of $5,000 was obtained in 1874 — $500 to be paid when Bish- 
 op Randall deeded the building with five acres of ground for a 
 " campus " — after which the school should have the full benefit of the 
 appropriation — to be open thereafter for liberal instruction in mining, 
 engineering, assaying, metallurgy, chemistry, geology, mineralogy and 
 natural philosophy. The bishop of the episcopal diocese then deeded 
 the building to the state and C. C. Welch donated the requisite five 
 acres of ground. 
 
 The legislature of 1876 appropriated §3,500 for the maintenance of
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 469 
 
 the school, and to-day it is in successful operation, and provided in 
 every way for instruction in the best methods of the above named 
 branches of study. 
 
 Professor Gregory Board, Principal of the instructive department, 
 
 GREELEY PUBLIC SCHOOL. 
 
 is a thoroughly educated chemist and metallurgist, from the London 
 School of Mines, and is aided by an efficient lady assistant. Twenty 
 one students have been receiving instruction besides a large class 
 who have for two winters attended full courses of lectures in Chem- 
 istry, Geology, Blowpipe Analysis and Metallurgy.
 
 47° COLORADO. 
 
 BOARD OF rRUSl l l S. 
 
 Hon, W. A. II. Loveland, Golden, Jefferson County; lion. Alpheus 
 Wright, Boulder, Boulder County; Hon. \. P. Hill, Black Hawk, Gil- 
 pin County; \V. \V. Ware, Georgetown, Clear Creek County; Hon. 
 A. lair Wilson, Del Norte, Rio Grande County; J. II. Yonley, Monte 
 
 zuma, Summit County; (apt. J. '['.Smith, Denver. Arapahoe County. 
 
 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 
 W. A. II. I oveland, Alpheus Wright, James T. Smith. 
 
 OFFICERS. 
 President, W. A. II. Loveland; Secretary, Ed. L. Berthoud. 
 
 FACULTY. 
 
 Prof. Gregory Hoard, E. M.; E. L. Berthoud, C. E.; Richard Pierce, 
 F. G. S.; Theodore Van Wagenen, M. E.; James Teal, M. E.J Win. 
 West, E. J.; Rev. Thos. Hellam, A. M.; Win. Kendrick, Instructor in 
 Telegraphy. 
 
 COURSE OF STUDIES — FIRST TERM. 
 Chemistry, theoretical and practical ; Blowpipe Analysis and Assay- 
 ing; Mineralogy; Drawing; Civil Engineering. 
 
 SECOND TERM. 
 
 Metallurgy and applied Chemistry; Mining Engineering; Miner- 
 alogy; Geology; Drawing; Assaying. 
 
 In addition to the above, ample provision is made for Held work , 
 and for visiting mines and works for the treatment of ores.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 COLORADO ELEVATIONS. 
 
 Elevations above sea level according to Hayden's last surveys. 
 PROMINENT MOUNTAINS. 
 
 CENTRAL COLORADO. 
 
 Mount Harvard 14,384 
 
 Massive 14,368 
 
 Mount Elbert, 14.326 
 
 Grizzley Peak, 14,317 
 
 Lincoln, • 14,296 
 
 Mount Nelson, 14,280 
 
 Antoro, 14,245 
 
 Sopris 14,200 
 
 Princeton, x 4,!99 
 
 Mount of the- Holy Cross, . . . 14,176 
 
 Pike's Peak,- 14,146 
 
 Yale, 14,101 
 
 Shavano 14,09s 
 
 Ouray, 14,043 
 
 NORTHERN COLORADO. 
 
 Gray's Peak, 14, 341 
 
 Irwin's ((iray's) !4,336 
 
 *Highest Mountain in Colorado. 
 
 Mount Rosalie, 14, 340 
 
 Evans, 14, 330 
 
 Long's Peak, *4> 2 7i 
 
 SOUTHERN COLORADO. 
 
 *Mont Blanco , 14, 440 
 
 Spanish Peaks, 11,000 
 
 SAN JUAN COUNTRY. 
 
 La Plata, i4.3° 2 
 
 Uncompahgre, I4, 2 55 
 
 Sneffels, 14,158 
 
 Pyramid, 14,146 
 
 Castle Peak, i4,"5 
 
 Pridgeon's, !4, 54 
 
 Maroon, i4,°°3 
 
 Capitol, i3,99 2 
 
 Snow Mas?, 13,961 
 
 DISTANCES FROM DENVER. 
 
 Denver to Fairplay via Denver & South Park Railway, to Morrison 
 thence by South Park stage line, 95 miles; to Alma 102. Colorado 
 Springs to Fairplay, 85 miles. Canon to Fairplay, by South Park 
 Stage, 77 miles. These are the roads to the silver mines of Lincoln 
 and Bross, and the gold placers of Park, Lake and Summit counties. 
 
 Denver to Cheyenne on U. P. R. R., via Denver Pacific, 106 miles. 
 Denver to Kansas City, via Kansas Pacific, 639 miles. 
 
 ELEVATIONS OF TOWNS AND OTHER LOCALITIES. 
 FROM HAYDEN'S SURVEYS. 
 
 Denver 5,317, Denver K. P. R. W. track 5.196, Rollinsville 8,323, 
 Nederland 8,263, Gold Hill 8,463, Sugar Loaf Mountain 8,933,
 
 11 AI'l'KMMV 
 
 Georgetown 8,530, Green Lake 10,000, Fall River 7,719, Stevens' 
 mine 1 1,943, Snake River Pass 13,060, Berthoud Pass 11,462, Sum- 
 mit of Boulder Pass Road 11,613, " (lt Sulphur Springs, Middle Park, 
 7,713, (hand Lake 8,153, Chief Mountain 11,833, Estes Park 7,528, 
 North Park about 9,000. 
 
 Timber line 11,100 to 11,600, Hamilton Pass 12,500. Tennessee 
 Pass 10,418,, Alma 11,044, O ro 10,704, Granite 8,883, Twin Lakes 
 9,44-!, Divide south of Denver, 7,554, Breckinridge 9,492, Montezu- 
 ma 10,113, Saint John 10,625, South Park about 9,500, Salt Works 
 (South Park) 8,826. 
 
 SOUTHERN AND SAN JUAN COUNTRY. 
 
 Poncho Pass 8,600, San Luis Valley 7,200 to 7,600, Sangre de Chris- 
 to Pass (R. R.) 9,390, Raton Pass 5,896, Del Norte 7,200, Summit 
 mines 12,000 to 13,000. 
 
 SAN JUAN COUNTRY. 
 
 Lake City 8,550, Silverton (Baker's Park) 9,400, Mineral City 
 11,500, Cunningham Pass 12,090, Howardsville 9,700, Animas Forks 
 11,200, Animas City 6,850, Ouray 6,000. Timber line between Gun- 
 nison and Rio Grande about 10,000, Los Pinos (Indian Agency) 9,270. 
 
 GRAND CANON OF THE GUNNISON. 
 
 Elevation above sea level in feet. Level of river at mouth of 
 Mountain Creek 7,200 feet ; top of plateau (or wall) on north side, 
 8,800 — heighth of wall 1,600; heighth of wall at point below on east 
 side, 1,900; west side, 1, 800; heighth of canon wall in gneiss rock 
 900 ; — miles below, river level, 6,800 ; top of plateau or wall, 9,800; 
 heighth of wall in gneiss 1,800; heighth of canon wall above river 
 3,000 feet. These walls border the river for miles, rising from 1,000 
 to 3,000 feet above it, and are composed of stratified rock. Jn places 
 their level summits (plateaus) are surmounted by a second wall, form- 
 ing a canon within a canon, rising like huge bastions and turrets, one 
 above another. The width of the canon is about 300 feet. Through 
 this chasm dashes the river, its surface white with foam. 
 
 Distance from Pueblo to Kansas City, 618 miles; Las Animas, 93; 
 La Veta, 72^; Fort Garland, 99^; Del Norte, 157^; Lake City,
 
 APPENDIX. HI 
 
 241^ ; Silverton, 259^ ; Trinidad, 95. South Pueblo to Denver, 120; 
 Colorado Springs, 44 ; Canon, 40. 
 
 ELEVATIONS. RAILROAD FARES AND DISTANCES FROM DENVER. 
 
 TOWNS AND CITIES 
 
 ELEVATIONS! MILES 
 
 Black Hawk . . 
 Boulder .... 
 Canon City . . . 
 
 Caribou 
 
 Central 
 
 Cheyenne . . . . 
 Colorado Springs 
 
 Evans 
 
 Fairplay .... 
 Georgetown . . 
 
 Golden 
 
 Greeley 
 
 Idaho Springs. . 
 Longmont .... 
 Manitou Springs . 
 
 Pueblo 
 
 El Moro .... 
 Trinidad .... 
 Santa Fe . . . . 
 
 La Veta 
 
 Tucson 
 
 Boston 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Cincinnnati . . . 
 Indianapolis . . . 
 Kansas City . . . 
 Louisville .... 
 New York . . . 
 New Orleans . . 
 
 Omaha 
 
 Philadelphia . . . 
 St. Louis .... 
 San Francisco . . 
 Washington . . . 
 
 7.875 
 5.53 6 
 4,7°° 
 9.905 
 8,300 
 6.075 
 6,023 
 
 9,9 6 4 
 8,452 
 5.7*8 
 4,779 
 7,535 
 
 6,124 
 4,400 
 
 5,8oo 
 
 38 
 
 160 
 60 
 
 95 
 
 52 
 
 15 
 
 52 
 
 38 
 
 52 
 
 80 
 
 119 
 
 206 
 
 210 
 
 417 
 
 192 
 
 2,115 
 1,127 
 
 1,363 
 1,158 
 
 639 
 1,140 
 
 i,977 
 1,606 
 
 622 
 1,888 
 
 914 
 1,500 
 
 $ 3 75 
 
 2 25 
 15 00 
 
 5 4° 
 4 25 
 
 10 00 
 
 6 40 
 
 4 60 
 12 00 
 
 6 60 
 1 00 
 
 5 00 
 4 60 
 
 3 75 
 
 7 15 
 10 00 
 
 18 90 
 
 19 90 
 
 70 00 
 17 50 
 
 215 00 
 77 00 
 52 20 
 55 5° 
 
 54 °° 
 35 °° 
 
 55 5° 
 73 00 
 69 00 
 41 00 
 
 71 00 
 46 00 
 
 no 00 
 69 25 
 
 COLORADO'S CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATION. 
 
 UNITED STATES SENATORS. 
 Jerome B. Chaffee, Henry M. Teller. 
 
 MEMBER OF CONGRESS. 
 
 James B. Belford. 
 
 The city of Central may almost claim to furnish Colorado's entire 
 delegation in Congress. Henry M. Teller and James B. Belford are
 
 IV APPENDIX. 
 
 both residents <>f that place, and Jerome B. Chaffee was a former citi- 
 zen and still largely interested there. 
 
 The Legislative vote for Senators stood, fifty for both Chaffee and 
 Teller and twenty-five for each of the democratic nominees, W. A. H. 
 Loveland and Thomas Macon. 
 
 For this year only, the presidential electors for Colorado, were 
 chosen by the legislature. They were Herman Beckurts, W. L. Had- 
 ley and Otto Mears. 
 
 The dem cratic legislative caucus nominees for electors were Adair 
 Wilson, J. H. Jones and Miguel Otero, 
 
 STATE GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 
 
 EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 The first State Government was inaugurated November 3rd, 1876. 
 The following are its officers : 
 
 Governor, John L. Routt; Lieutenant-Governor, Lafayette Head ; 
 Secretary of State, William M. Clark; Auditor, D. C. Crawford; 
 Treasurer, George C. Corning; Attorney General,A. J. Sampson; Supt. 
 Public Instruction, J. C. Shattuck. 
 
 JUDICIAL. 
 
 Justices of the Supreme Court— Samuel H. Elbert, E. T. Wells, 
 H. C. Thatcher, Chief Justice. 
 
 Judges of District Courts — First District, J. B. Beck ; Second Dis- 
 trict, Victor A. Elliott ; Third District, John W. Henry ; Fourth Dis- 
 trict, Thos. M. Bowen. 
 
 District Attorneys — First District, E. O. Wolcott ; Second Dis- 
 trict, D. B. Graham ; Third District, John M. Waldron ; Fourth Dis- 
 trict, C. W. Burris. 
 
 LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 The Senate consists of twenty-six members, of whom nineteen are 
 republicans and seven democrats. The House comprises forty-nine 
 members, thirty-one republicans and eighteen democrats. 
 
 SENATE. 
 
 First District, S. B. Haynes ; Second, N. H. Meldrum; Third, 
 T. O. Saunders and James P. Maxwell; Fourth, L. C. Rockwell; Fifth, 
 W. W. Webster; Sixth, Albert Johnson and W.'A. Hamill ; Seventh,
 
 APPENDIX. V 
 
 *A. H. DeFrance; Eighth, J. E. Bates, H. P. Bennet, Alfred Butters 
 and L. C. Ellsworth ; Ninth, Eugene Gaussoin ; Tenth, E. S. Randall; 
 Eleventh, Jas. F. Gardner; Twelfth, James Moynahan; Thirteenth, 
 J. B. Hall; Fourteenth, James Clelland; Fifteenth, J. W. Hill; Six- 
 teenth, W. B. Hamilton; Seventeenth, D. L. Taylor; Eighteenth, W. 
 H. Meyer; Nineteenth; J. F. Chacon; Twentieth, Henry Henson. 
 
 George T. Clark, Secretary. 
 
 *Contested by Jos. T. Boyd. 
 
 Arapahoe County, J. C. Mayer, Adolph Schinner, A. C. Phelps, W. 
 D. Anthony, Geo. C. Griffin, John McBroom and W. H. Pierce; 
 Boulder, Isaac Canfield, George X. Young, Daniel Ransom and A. A. 
 Smith ; Bent, R. M. McMurray ; Clear Creek, George A. Patten, T. 
 J. Watts, T. F.Simmons and P. E. Morehouse; Conejos, A. M. Vigil; 
 Costilla, M. Alberts; Conejos and Costilla, D. Archuleta; Douglas, 
 Geo. A. Lord; Elbert, A. D. Wilson ; El Paso, J. C. Helm and C. W. 
 Kittredge; Fremont, Chas. R. Seiber and Richard Irwin ; Grand, J. 
 H. Stokes; Gilpin, A. C. Marshman, H. J. Kruse and H. W. Lake; 
 Huerfano, J. R. Esquibel and J. T. Chavez; Hinsdale, W. H. Green; 
 Jefferson, George Rand and M. V. Luther; Larimer, U. C. Alford ; 
 La Plata, John Moss ; Las AniVnas, H. Chacon, M. Laragoite and D. 
 F. Wilkins; Lake, J. W. McDermott ; Pueblo, G. Langford and J. 
 U. Carlile ; Park, Z. Surles ; Rio Grande, Alva Adams ; Summit, Geo. 
 W.Wilson; Saguache, Isaac Gotthelf; San Juan, C. H. Mclntire ; 
 Weld, D. F. Rainey and A. Leonard. 
 
 W. D. Anthony, Speaker; W. B. Felton, Chief Clerk. 
 
 REGENTS OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 F. J. Ebert, \V. H. Van Gieson, L. W. Doloff, George Tritch, J. Berkley 
 and C. Valdez. 
 
 TERRITORIAL OR STATE ASSAYERS. 
 
 L. Thompson, Boulder; G. H. Gray, Gentral ; Otto Hartleben, Georgetown; 
 J. H. Yonley, Montezuma ; A. Reicheneker, Fairplay ; Maurice Hayes, Oro ; W. 
 McCree, Del Norte; Leon Eggers, Lake City; W. H. Nichols, Silverton ; T. F. 
 Braun, Rosila.
 
 vi APPENDIX. 
 
 OFFICIAL RKTURNS OF FIRST COLORADO STATE F.LECTION. 
 
 Election held on October 3rd, 1876. "R" Republicans. "D" Democrats. 
 
 GOVERNOR. 
 
 John L. Routt, R i4. I S4 
 
 BelaM. Hughes, D 13,3'° 
 
 Scattering, ' 
 
 Routt's Majority, 837 
 
 LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR. 
 
 Lafayette Head, R M.'3 T 
 
 Michael Beshoar, D i3>°93 
 
 Head's Majority, 1,098 
 
 SECRETARY OF STATE. 
 
 Wm. M. Clark, R 14,582 
 
 James T. Smith, D 12,843 
 
 Scattering, " 
 
 Clark's Majority, 1.728 
 
 AUDITOR. 
 
 D. C. Crawford, R M,"7 
 
 J. F. Benedict, D 13.229 
 
 Scattering, 26 
 
 Crawford's Majority, 862 
 
 TREASURER. 
 
 Geo. C. Corning, R 14.038 
 
 Thos. M. Field, D i3.5'° 
 
 Scattering, '. 37 
 
 Coming's Majority, 49 1 
 
 ATTORNEY GENERAL. 
 
 A. J. Sampson, R 13,723 
 
 G. Q. Richmond, D 13.182 
 
 Sampson's Majority, 54 1 
 
 SUPERINTENDENT PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 
 
 J. C. Shattuck, R '. M,3°4 
 
 J. B. Groesbeck, D '. 12.473 
 
 ♦Scattering, 5° 8 
 
 Shattuck's Majority, . . . . ■ i,3 2 3
 
 APPENDIX. Vll 
 
 *The substitution of Groesbeck for Carpenter, on the Democratic ticket, was 
 not known in some of the distant San Juan counties. 
 
 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 Total Republican Majorities, 2,878 
 
 Total Democratic Majorities, 1.3 10 
 
 Net Republican Majorities, i,5°8 
 
 STATE SENATE. 
 
 Total Republican Majorities, 2,884 
 
 Total Democratic Majorities, 938 
 
 Net Republican Majorities,. 1,946 
 
 SUPREME JUDGES. 
 
 Net Republican Majorities, 1,329 
 
 REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 
 
 ♦Republican Majority, 44th Congress, 998 
 
 DISTRICT JUDGES. 
 
 First District, Republican Majority, 549 
 
 Second District, Republican Majority, 928 
 
 Fourth District, Republican Majority, ... • 1,455 
 
 Total, 2,93 2 
 
 Third District, Democratic Majority, 462 
 
 Net Republican Majority, 2,47° 
 
 DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. 
 
 First District, Republican Majority, 805 
 
 Second District, Republican Majority 870 
 
 Fourth District, Republican Majority, 354 
 
 Total 2,029 
 
 Third District, Democratic Majority, 1,066 
 
 Net Republican Majority, 963 
 
 ♦For votes of previous years see pages 125-6. 
 
 A contest or dispute has arisen in regard to congressman. The 
 Territorial Secretary issued a call for an election for representative for 
 the 44th Congress, to be held October 3rd, but none for the 45th for 
 that time. Subsequently he ordered an election for the 45th Congress 
 to be held November 7th. A vote was cast for a representative for
 
 vill APPENDIX. 
 
 both congresses on the 3rd day of October; James B. Belford recen 
 
 ing a majority of 00S for the 44th and 854 votes for the 45th congress. 
 Afterwards the Secretary withdrew his proclamation for an election 
 to be held November 7th. An election was held, however, on that 
 day. Patterson receiving nearly all the votes cast. The State Canvass- 
 ing Board refused to count this vote, but did count the votes that were 
 polled for both terms on the 3rd clay of October. 
 
 The largest vote cast was that on state senators. Of this 15,213 
 were republican and 13,280 democratic — a republican majority of 1,933. 
 Total vote 28,493. 
 
 REPUBLICAN MAJORITIES FOR GOVERNOR BY COUNTIES. 
 
 Arapahoe, 378 ; Boulder, 443; Costilla, 178; Conejos, 123; Clear Creek, 41 ; 
 El Paso, 316; Gilpin, 242; Hinsdale, 38; Larimer, 74 ; Park 42 ; Rio Grande, 2 ; 
 Saguache, 117; Summit, 16; Weld, 325. 
 
 DEMOCRATIC MAJORITIES. 
 
 Bent, 1&9 ; Douglas, 51; Elbert, 33 ; Fremont, 11 ; Grand, 74 ; Huerfano, 204 ; 
 Jefferson, 60 ; Lake, 5 ; Las Animas, 602 ; La Plata, 58 ; Pueblo, 196; San Juan, 17. 
 The Republican majorities were a little larger on nearly all other nominees. 
 
 The following are the Territorial and United States officials of Colo- 
 rado from 1861 to 1876, inclusive: 
 
 GOVERNORS OF COLORADO. 
 
 Wm. Gilpin, qualified July 8, 1861 ; John Evans, April 11, 1862; Alexander 
 Cummings, October 19, 1865; A. C. Hunt, May 27, 1867; E. M. McCook, June 
 15, 1869; S. H. Elbert, 1873; E. M. McCook, August, 1874; John L. Routt, March 
 29, 1875. 
 
 SECRETARIES OF STATE. 
 
 L. L.Weld, qualified July 8,1861 ; S. H. Elbert, Apr. 19, 1862; Frank Hall, May 
 24, 1866; June 15, 1869; June 18, 1873: J. W.Jenkins, appointed February, 12, 
 1874 ; John Taffe, August 19, 1875. 
 
 TREASURERS. 
 
 Geo. T. Clark, qualified November 12, 1861 ; A. W. Atkins, March 17, 1864; 
 A. C. Hunt, January 26, 1866 ; John Wanless, September 5, 1866*; Columbus 
 Nuckolls, December 16, 1867; re-appointed March 17, i868;)Geo. T. Clark, February 
 14,1870: February 17, 1872; D. H. Moffatt, January 26, 1874; F. Z.Solomon; 
 February 12, 1876.
 
 APPENDIX. IX 
 
 AUDITORS. 
 
 M. M. Delano, qualified November ii>.,i86i ; R. E. Whitsett, March 10. 1864, 
 January 26, 1866 ; H. J. Graham, December 13, 1866 ; N. T. Cheesman, January 7. 
 1868; James B. Thompson, February 15, 1870; February 14, 1872; L. C. Charles, 
 January 26, 1874 ; February 12, 1876. 
 
 SUPERINTENDENTS PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 
 
 W. J. Curtis, 1862 ; W. S. Walker, 1863 ; A. W. Atkins, 1865 : John Wanless, 
 1866 : Columbus Nuckolls, 1868; W. C. Lothrop, 1870; H. M. Hale, 1873-6. 
 
 UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS. 
 
 J. E. Daliba, 1861 ; S. E. Browne, 1862 ; G. W. Chamberlain, 1865; L. C. 
 Rockwell, 1870; H. C. Thatcher, 1872 : H. C. Alleman, 1874; C. D. Bradley, 1875 ; 
 W. H. Parker, aciing Attorney, 1876. 
 
 ADJUTANT GENERALS. 
 
 D. H. Moffatt, 1862; L.N. Tappan, Hal Sayr, 1S67; W.R.Thomas, 1874; 
 C. Vaughn, 1874: R. S. Roe, lS?-;^. 
 
 JUSTICES SUPREME COURT AND DISTRICT JUDGES. 
 
 B. F. Hall chief Justice, S. N. Pettis, Chas. Lee Armour, July 9, 1861 ; A. A. 
 Bradford, July 5, 1862; S. S. Harding, C. J., September 17, 1863 ; C. F. Holly, 
 January 22,-1866; W. M. Gale, February 10, 1866; Moses Hallett, C. J., June 19, 
 1866; W. R. Gorsline, June 21, 1866; C. S. Eyster, November 26, 1866; Moses 
 Hallett, re-appointed, C. J., April 30, 1870; J. B. Belford, July 26,1870: E. T. 
 Wells, March 6. 1870; A. W. Stone, March 13, 1875; A. W. Brazee, 1875. 
 
 UNITED STATES MARSHALS. 
 
 C. Townsend, 1861 ; A. C.Hunt, 1862; U. B Halloway, 1866; M. A. ShafFen- 
 burg, 1868; C. C.Tompkins, April, 1875. 
 
 INTERNAL REVENUE COLLECTORS. 
 
 G. W. Brown, 1861 ; J. H. Morrison, 1870 ; W. H. Parker, June 1, 1875 ; J. C. 
 Wilson, June 1, 1876. 
 
 SURVEYOR GENERALS 
 
 F. M. Case, 1861 ; John Pierce, 1862; W. H. Lessig, T. B. Searight 1874. 
 
 MANAGERS U. S. MINT. 
 Geo. W. Lane, 1863; J. F. L. Schirmer, 1869.
 
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