a hurry-graph of colorado and its silver mines · 106,475 square miles, almost as large as the...

A HURRY-GRAPHOF

COLORADOAND ITS

SILVER MINES,

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BY

M. JYISTKER.

BALTIMOEE:Jones Beothees, Steam Book and Job Peintees,

128 West Baltimore Street,1870.

A HURRY-GRAPH OF

COLORADO AND ITS SILVER MINES.

COLORADO.Colorado was organized as a Ter-

ritory, March 2d,'1861. Its area is106,475 square miles, almost as

large as the state of New York,New Jersey, Massachusetts andPennsylvania combined, or as En-gland, Ireland and Scotland, and isO 7 7

undoubtedly one of the noblestand richest of our Territorial pos-sessions. It is traversed by theEastern range of the Rocky moun-tains, and in addition to its immensemineralresources, ofwhich in realityscarcely anything is as yet known,it has over 4,000,000 acres of pro-ductive agricultural land. Manyof the lands which have not beengenerally regarded as good for cul-tivation, under the improved systemof irrigation are bearing extensivelyat present; the principal industry,particularly in Southern Colorado,is grazing, for which it is unsurpas-sed ; the business of raising cattleand sheep is one of little risk andgreat profit; the table lands lyingbetween the streams afford an am-ple supply of pasturage summer andwinter; the rainy season during thespring and early part of sum-mer causes a luxuriant growth of

gramma and other varieties ofgrasses to spring np and grow tomaturity; during the drier monthsof the latter part of summer andfall, this growth of vegetation driesand is cured so that none of its nu-tritious properties are lost; thegrass thus preserved makes a rangefor cattle, horses and sheep, duringthe winter months, until the grasssprings again. Under this econom-ical provision of nature, feeding isunnecessary, and beef and muttonof the first quality may be hadwithout stall feeding, or any carewhatever, except the expense aloneof herding stock.

The future -wealth of Colorado,however, must mainly depend uponits vast mineral resources] thoughmining thus far has been rude andimperfect, yet in the last nine yeai’Sthe product of gold and silver hasreached $30,000,000. Each yearhas shown an increase in efficiencyand profit, and last year the resultwas estimated at $4,000,000 fromthe gold mines of Central and theimmensly rich silver mines ofGeorgetown. Large deposits ofcoal of the finest quality lie alongthe mountains, and supply the

4 A Hurry-graph of Colorado and its Silver Mines.

miner and farmer with fuel; thereare large mines of iron, and nearthe coal mine in the South Bouldera smelting furnace has been putinto successful operation. Duringthe past few years rich veins of cop-per ore have been opened in thecounty of Park. Salt works are inoperation and throughout the ter-ritory there are many salt springs,and the salt manufactured is of ex-

cellent quality, and supplies theterritory with thisarticle for everypurpose used. Petroleum has alsobeen discovered, in Park county.Fire clay has been found also inClear Creek near Boulder. Thereare successful manufactories of pot-tery, tile and fire brick near GoldenCity.

In Fremont county there are richquarries of limestone, freestone,granite, marble and gypsum. Inthe variety, richness and vastnessof its mineral resources, no portionof the union gives greater promisethan Colorado. It is in itself’anempire. Blessed withall that givesan empire strength, wealth, great-ness and civilization, nothing isneeded hut development.

The climate of Colorado by reasonof its elevation above the level ofthe sea, varying in altitude from4,798 feet at Denver city to 13,000feet at the pass over the range viaArgentine, and the remoteness ofany large body of water, is dry,mild and free from extreme mois-ture all the year round. The soilof theriver bottoms is as fertile asthatof the Missouri, and large cropsof grain and vegetables are easilyraised. The Geographical delusionthat these vast plains formed a

great desert, and that vegetationcould not be sustained, is dispelledby the mere fact, that for agescountless herds of the Buffalo, Elk,Antelope and Deer have roamedover them, and subsisted on theirnatural grasses, and even now thewild roaming Buffalo out-numberthe domestic horned cattle of theUnited States.

That the Highlands of the Hud-son should lose their fame, and theWhite Mountains . their presentglory, when brought into compe-tition with the mountain peaks andsnowy ranges of. Colorado, would,ten years ago, have seemed a dream.

The Kansas Pacific and the Den-ver Pacific Railroad will not onlymake this dream an assured fact,but it will make Colorado the water-ing place of America—the Switzer-land of the American continent.No other State or territory presentssuch fine mountain views, and eventhe Alps lose in magnificence, whencompared with theranges and peaksof the Rocky Mountains, so remark-able for depth and height, andvariety and beauty. A delightfulprospect is everything to the touristin search of rest and comfort; orthe invalid needing health and re-pose, and the mountain scenery ofColorado is for two hundred milesin a single point of view, an ever-varying picture of natural beauty.Unmatched in grandeur and une-qualed in climate, these mountainpeaks are alike gladdening andinspiring—whether dancing in thesunlight or bathed in clouds—-whether white with the snow thatcaps their summits, or dark with therocks and trees which clothe their

A Hurry-graph of Colorado and its Silver Mines. 5

sides. Berne cannot boast such amagnificent prospect as Denver, andthe sea coast of the South AmericanPacific presents no such display ofscenic beauty as the approach fromthe Plains of Colorado.

These Plains form a high rollingplateau, nearly 5,000 feet above thelevel of the sea, watered by themountain streams, and capable ofsuccessful cultivation. This is thefirst natural sub-divisionof Colorado,comprising the entire width of theState eastward from the mountains.Adjoining it on the west is the greatmountain region, one hundred andfifty and two hundred miles inwidth; range following range, andpeak crowning peak, in this futureSummer Home of the Continent.In the lap of these mountains, underthe shadows of peaks from eleven toseventeen thousand feet in hight,are the great natural Parks of Col-orado. The best known of theseare the North, Middle and SouthParks. The first being the mostelevated, is the coldest and leastattractive, and the last is the mostbeautiful. Middle Park which liesbetween them, encircled by snow-topped mountains, is fifty mileswide by seventy long, but south ofall these lies the San Luis Park,the largest and perhaps the mostvaried of this wonderful series ofpleasure grounds with which Naturehas enriched the Switzerland ofAmerica,

There are a number of othersmaller and less noted, but not theless beautiful and enchanting, parksin this wonderful mountain region.But, to large and small alike, sum-mer skies and summer scenes blend

in harmony with the refreshingverdure of spring and the coolbreath of autumn. A wealth andvariety of flowers bloom amongthese mountains, at a hight of tenthousand feet, even, scarcely sur-passed in form and shading, andunequalled in strength, by the ex-quisite flora of the tropics. Thecolors are more deep and delicatethan in the richest garden flowersof New England; and though frostand snow may stiffen the blossomsevery morning, yet such is the ex-treme dryness of the atmospherethat they continue to bloom in un-diminished freshness and beautyuntil winter absolutely freezes themout. Vegetation ceases in theWhite Mountains at an elevationof less than five thousand feet, butthose who will delight in the futurebut not distant watering places ofthe West, may carry home withthem harebell and painter’s brushfrom a hight of eleven and twelvethousand feet above the sea.

The summer traveler can findnothing either at Newport or LongBranch to equal, for instance, anexcursion to the summit of Ber-thoud Pass, where the waters ofthe Atlantic and the Pacific roll offon either hand on their way to theseas, and a descent thence to theHot Baths of the Middle Park?These hot, sulphurous waters bub-ble up at three or four places,within a few feet, and infuse them-selves into the dry atmosphere.Coming together into a pool theyflow over an abrupt bank into abasin below and form a naturalbathing-house, where a hot sitz anddouche bath may be had, such as

A Hurry-graph of Colorado and its Silver Mines.

can be found nowhere else in theworld. The temperature of thewater is 110° Fahrenheit, and, atthe first touch the water seems al-most of scalding heat. No bathercan stand under the fall until hisbody has been accustomed to theheat by a few partial and experi-mental trials, but after these, thesensations are delightful. Thefamed glories of the Turkish bathare nothing in comparison with thetransition from the heat of thesesprings to a temperature of 30° or40° of the dry and inspiringatmos-phere. At Idaho are the Hot SodaSprings, which, like the HotSpringsof the Middle Park, must becomea famous summer resort at no dis-tant day, while many hardier seek-ers after pleasure will annuallyclimb the hights of Gray’s Peak,Mount Lincoln, Pike’s Peak andLong’s Peak, from eleven to sixteenthousand feet above the level ofthe sea, for the finest mountainviews in the world. These Peaksoverlook all the magnificent sceneryof which we have just been speak-ing, so wonderful, so inspiring andso sublime, that it is difficult to at-tempt a description without seem-ing to exaggerate.

THE CITY OF DENVER.The inland city of Denver, the

capital of Colorado, is one of themost beautiful, attractive and thri-

. vipg towns in the United States.! It may be taken as an example of■ the growth of thiscountry, a growthwhich is the more remarkable be-

cause it represents the wealth and

progress of a community. Until thepresent time, far from any of therailroad lines of travel and com-merce, with no connecting railroadlinks, and isolated as it were withall swift communications with thewealth-producing settlements of theAtlantic and Pacific states, yet Den-ver became and now is, a populous,thrifty, well built town, with acommunity as orderly and settledas any town in the States.Ten years ago it was merely a strag-gling cluster of tents and cabinswhere the wandering Indian tribesand adventurous miners encamped.The Rocky Mountains are buttwelve miles distant and the moun-tain towns are so many tributariesto its wealth and importance.Here is a city with one railroadcompleted, the Denver Pacific, con-necting Denver with the Union Pa-cific railroad, with another, (theKansas Pacific) nearly completed—-with imposing buildings, withelegant, tasteful and solidly builtprivate residences, with sixchurches, a Masonic Hall and sev-eral schools. It has a Catholicconvent and two large seminariesunder the auspices of the.Methodistand Episcopal Churches. It hastelegraph connections with the At-lantic and Pacific and South toSanta Fe, New Mexico—it hasthree daily and four weekly papers,among them a German paper.

There are some five hotels, amongthem an extensive brick. Thereare also two flouring mills, withplaning mills and manufactories ofsash and doors, tinware, guns, jew-elry, cabinet furniture, and onewoolen factory in the course of


erection. There are two theatresand several public halls and a fineGovernment mint. Just beyondthe town the Agricultural Societyof Colorado have established a racetrack (half mile) and territorialfairgrounds; immediately adjoining isthe Ford Trotting Park Associationgrounds, one of the most completerace courses in the West—with itssolid concrete walls—grand stand—-stables and mile track. Also twoparks for summer resort. In fact,Denver has become a ripe, maturecity, answering every condition ofcivilization, possessing all the com-forts and advantages of the olderEastern towns, with a mild equableclimate, and surrounded by thefinest scenery on the continent.Perhaps in all the world there areno finer sunsets to be seen than atDenver, and so near that they seemto overshadow it. We have themagnificent ranges of the RockyMountains, their tops covered withsnow even in mid-summer, and form-ing a framework of snow and green-ery,inwhichthe beautiful inlandcitynestles like a picture or a gem.Denver is the heart of the mightyregion, the future metropolis of theRocky Mountains and the plains.

CENTRAL CITY,How joined to the towns of Black

Hawk and Nevada, making a con-tinuous line of settlements threemiles long, with a gradual ascent of1,000 feet, is the chief town of Gil-pin County and is surrounded onall sides by rich gold mines. It hasnow apopulationbordering on 9,000,

with fine blocks of brick houses, twodaily and two weekly papers, foun-dries, machine shops, Templar, Ma-sonic and Odd Fellow Halls, Min-ers’ and Mechanics’ Institute, finechurches, elegant residences, school,theatre, quartz mills, reductionworks, and mining machinery inevery direction. There are now run-ning in Gilpin County, sixty-threemills containing 1,210 stamps, also'twenty-six other mills, and one hun-dred and eighty one engines havingan aggregate of 4,500 horse power.

GEORGETOWN,Famous for its rich silver mines,,

is eighteen miles from Central and’forty-eight miles from Denver, and’is the grand centre of the silvermining region, where hundreds ofminers are digging day and night,.,sending forth ores, pronounced atthe Paris Exposition “unrivalled”and “unequaled,” and is the crea-tion of the past three years, andnow has a population of some 2,500,with fine houses, stores, banks,churches, schools, hotels, planingmills, saw mills, one weekly paper,The Colorado Miner , and in its im-mediate vicinity are thirteen amal-gamatory smelting and reduction,works, with a capacity of treating;110 tons of ore per day, and is des-tined at no distant day to become-a wealthy and prosperous city.

GOLDEN CITY,Situated on a romantic, hill-embow-ered valley at the foot of the RockyMountains and on the banks of


Clear Creek, twelve miles from Den-ver. The main road into the moun-tain gold mines passes through thetown. The population of GoldenCity is some 2,000, and the towncontains planing mills, tannery,paper mill, pottery and fire brickworks, extensive brick kilns, foun-dries, flouring mills, one live weeklypaper, fine stores and residences,four hotels, three churches, one sem-inary, and two schools. The loca-tion of the town is a beautiful one,and from its surroundings and nat-ural advantages, promises to excelas a manufacturing centre, havingabundance of own coal, timber,lime and fire clay near by, with un-limited water power.

PUEBLO,Situated at the confluence of theFountain qui Bouille with the Ar-kansas river, is the county seat. Ofa steady, rapid growth, with a largeand increasing trade, the naturalcentre of a vast stretch of agricul-tural and grazing land, with a mild,equable and salubrious climate.Pueblo, already the commercialmetropolis of Southern Colorado,has a future before it bright andpromising indeed. Its populationthough yet comparatively small,being but a little in excess of onethousand souls, is fast multiplying ;

and when it is considered that twoyears ago the total number of inhab-itants was less than fifty, the ratioof increase can but be gratifyingand satisfactory even to the mostsanguine.

The moral and religious tone ofsociety is good, and improving. The

Ejuscopal and Methodist denomi-nations have each a large and com-modious house of worship in thisplace. Good schools are maintained,all the learned professions are rep-resented, and a weekly paper is pub-lished here.

COLORADO CITY,The county seat of El Paso county

is Colorado City, a beautifully loca-ted little town lying in the shadowof Pike’s Peak. When railroadscommence bringing their annualswarm of travelers to the mountains,Colorado City is destined to becomea place of great resort. It com-bines, perhaps, more natural attrac-tions than any other place in Col-orado. Colorado City has goodschools and churches, and an intel-ligent and active population. Thecelebrated rocks which, with theirlofty and fantastic pinnacles, theircrags and caves, and their variega-ted colors, from snowy white toblood-red, form the most pictur-esqe spot to the artist and lover ofnature to be found in Colorado, andknown as the “Garden of the Gods,”are situated adjoining the’ town ofColorado City, and which, togetherwith the wonderful Soda Springs,will some day make this a famouswatering place for the invalid, thetourist, and the visitor.

CANON CITY.This town is located where the

Arkansas breaks through the moun-tain range, on a beautiful level pla-teau of land, elevated thirty to


forty feet above the river. Thecanon of the river near this placepresents one of the most wonderfulscenes of grandeur and beauty thatnature anywhere offers. The river,compressed into a very narrowspace, is overhung by stupendouswalls of rock from one thousand totwelve hundred feet in height.With an average fall of fifty feetto the mile, it flows through the im-mense gap for a distance of eightmiles.

‘■Like a steed, in frantic fit,That flings the froth from curb and bit,Theriver chafes its waves to sprayO’er every rock that bars its way,Till foam globes on its eddies rideThick as the schemes of human pride.”

The town is surrounded on threesides by the mountains, and is theresort of tourists who make it theirspecial object to study and admirethe wonders of nature. In thisplace the several denominationshave houses of worship, and a goodschool is maintained.

TSINIDAD.This town contains a population

of about five hundred, which num-ber is increasing very rapidly. Itenjoys a lucrative trade with theMoreno mines in Hew Mexico, andwith the surrounding country. Theprincipal roads from the States toHew Mexico and from the northernpart of the Territory converge here.The Catholic denomination predom-inates. It has a large church andis about to establish a convent schoolin connection with it.

There are, also, the thriving andflourishing towns of Boulder, Yal-mont, Burlington, Evans, Greeley,

Kit Carson,Fountain, Buckskin Joe,Hamilton, Laurette, Montgomery,Idaho, San Luis,Costilla, Gaudalupe,Fairplay, that now have a popula-tion varying from three to sevenhundred, and bid fair to becometowns of some importance whenthe Territory is fully developed.

Silver Mines of Colorado.If we would search for precious

metals we should give our exertionsin prosj>eeting where the indica-tions of nature most directly point.She has lavishly distributed hergifts and a search for them shouldbe directed by intelligent inquiryand not by hap-hazard or recklesseffort. We have the authoritiesof the most eminent geologists andmetallurgists for the assertion thatthe Bocky Mountains are the legiti-mate localities for true gold andsilver hearing ores. Their situationand geological characteristics provethe early date of their existence,dating far beyond the deposits ofthe plains below. They presentindisputable proof of their volcanicorigin, vast and immense upheaval,they exhibit the true plutonic ores—

the granite, the silver, the sulphu-rets of iron, copper, lead, antimony,tin, bismuth and all the attendantsof precious metals in their primitivestate, and in such profusion, suchinexhaustible quantity, as to almostchallenge our belief. All mainlodes here are vomited forth fromthe mysterious dejDths of the earthby the convulsions below, and theseams or lines of surface, can befollowed with a jwecision and cer-tainty that is remarkable.

10 A Hurry-graph of Colorado and its Silver Alines

The silver fields now discoveredand opened in Colorado, nearGeorgetown, are apparently in |prominence and value beyond anyknown in the world, and the results jthat will be realized there in thenext few years will constitute anepoch in the history of silver mining.Were it generally known to-dayhow rich and inviting the silverfields of Colorado are, w T e shouldwitness an attention and invest-ment there more conspicuous thanany exhibited before during thepresent age. An excitement ofmagnitude is inevitable, and willcome.

The wealth of the Silver minesis historic. We are informed byHumboldt in his Essay Politiquethat the yield of the Mexican minessince the conquest to 1803, had been$2,027,952,000, all of which wasproduced from a few central spots,and the mining confined to a com-paratively limited circle.” The reg-istered coinage of the mint of Mex-ico, from the year 1733 to 1860,shows $1,742,573,107.

When we remember that the roy-alty to the king of Spain, to whom,until the commencement of thenineteenth century, the MexicanStates paid tribute, was one-fifth,or 20 per cent, of the yield, and takeinto consideration the royal monop-oly of quicksilver and gunpowder,the result seems astonishing. TheMexican method of mining wascrude and simple. The ore, as wellas the water from the bottom of theshafts, was generally brought to thesurface upon the shoulders of tene-teros, (carriers) over ladders.

Their Arastres, or crushing mills,and amalgamators, were of therudest possible character, and wererun almost wholly by mule power.The following registered yields of afew mines on the American conti-nent may be interesting to thereader ;

Biscaina vein $ 16,341,000 00Santa Anita vein 21,341,910 00Valencia vein 31,813,486 CORayas vein 85,421,014 00VetaMadre vein 235,935,136 00Veta Madre of Guanguato,... 800,000,000 00Yeta Grande of Zacatecas— 650,000,000 00

The Pavelleon vein, when firstopened, was said to have produced$20,000 per day for five years, whena torrent of water from the moun-tains filled its shafts and sweptaway the improvements.

It was opened again, and for thesucceeding ten years yielded $60,-000,000, when it was again aban-doned in 1696, and not openedagain till 1787; when it was vigor-ously worked for eight months.The ore taken from it in thatperiodyielded $11,500,000.

The different members of theFagoaga family are estimated tohave received during fifty years’working of two veins, over $16,-000,000 in profits.

The Carmen vein, north of Du-rango, in the State of Chihuahua,among the mines of Batopilas,upon the western declivity of theSierra Madre, has produced enorm-ous yields of silver. From thisvein three masses of pure malleablesilver were taken, weighing collec-tively 870 pounds.

A single instance of the result ofan exploring expedition by someMexican Buscones, (searchers,) into

A Hurry-graph of Colorado and'its Silver Mines. 11

the regions of Arizona, (contiguousto Colorado,) in the commencementof the eighteenth century, will il-lustrate the wealth of that region.Upon their return, the most won-derful accounts of richness, and inproof, 3,033 lbs. of pure silver, onemass of which, alone, weighed 108arrobas, or 2,700 lbs.—the largestmass of pure silver ever found inthe world. The fact is -well sub-stantiated by record.

In Nevada, the Comstock Lodeyielded from 1856 to 1869, silverbullion valued at $66,000,000, ofwhich $16,500,000 was extractedin 1866.

From the celebrated TerribleLode, Brown Mountain, nearGeorgetown, Colorado, there hasbeen extracted since 1868, 200 tonsof first class ore, which yieldednear $lOO,OOO coin; two hundredtons of second class ore, which hasyielded over $40,000, and from2000 tons of third class ore, whichyielded $160,000, in all, a total of$300,000. The Equator Lode, onLeavenworth Mountain, Colorado,yielded $77,000 in silver in sevenmonths.

The best silver mines are those ofhigh elevation. It has been the ex-perience in Mexico, and it is a wellknown fact, the mines of Great Po-tosi, which have produced over onethousand millions, are worked at a

height exceeding that of MountBlanc. Those of Colorado are atan elevation of from 8,000 to 10,000feet above the level of the sea, yetin the vicinity of most fertile parksand unfailing streams.

The silver veins of Coloradohave been examined by those famil-

liar with those of the richest dis-tricts of Mexico, who agree thatthey are fully equal to any theyhave ever seen, in fact, superior intheir surface indications, havingwithin a few feet of the surface dis-tinct veins, in some instances fromone to three feet, of thepurest Ar-gentiferous galena ore. Those thathave been developed, among manyothers, is the Terrible mine, at adepth of 325 feet; the Brown, 150feet; the Equator, 400 feet; theBoston, 150 feet; the Argentine,40 feet, show theirmassive and solidjDroportions, and appear practicallyinexhaustible.

Fuller in his Treatise on SilverMines, says: “Whenever, in anypart of the world, silver mines havebeen worked, they are worked now;unless from some unexplainablecause—the lack of machinery, theexistence of war, and the invasionsof Indians, have, as in Mexico, famil-iarized our minds with the idea ofabandoned mines. But they haveall been abandoned for some othercause than that they are exhausted.We know of no silver mining re-gions in the world that have givenout.”

The mines of Mexico, originallywmrked by the native Aztecs, beforethe Spanish conquest, are workedstill. The mines of the Andes,have given forth their wealth formore than three centuries. Themines of old Spain have beenworked from the middle ages, andare in working condition now. InHungary, the same mines wmrkedby the Komans before the birth ofChrist, still yield their steady in-crease. The silver mines of Erie-

12 A Hurry-graph of Colorado and its Silver Alines.

burg, in Saxony, worked from theeleventh century, have no diminu-tion. In Bohemia, Tyrol, Norwayand Sweden, in the Ural and Atlasmountains, and indeed, whereverthe discoveries of silver mines havemade we believe, without excep-tion, the mines continue to be work-ed to the present day, and are gen-erally more productive now thanat any time during their past his-tory. “Silver-mining , for perma-nence and rich returns, has had itsparallels in no other business .”

MINING- BY TUNNELS.It is a generally conceded fact

among those in any way cognizantof the peculiar contour of the silverbearing mountains of Colorado, theirgreat altitudes above the valleys ofthe sti’eams and abrupt or precip-itous sides on which the silver veinsoutcrop, running parallel with thelongitudinal axis of the mountains,in most cases that tunnels are theonly practical and economical modeby which these silver veins can beworked, “provided that they arecontinuous to great depths.”

CONTINUITY OF VEINS.The continuity of the true fissure

silver veins of Colorado, and moreespecially those in the vicinity ofGeorgetown has never been ques-tioned. Most of the mines thathave reached any depth in mostinstances have solid granite walls,in many places stririated both ver-tically and horizontally. Prof.

Whitney in his “Metallic Wealthof the United States,” says “truefissure veins are continuous in depth,and their metaliferous contents havenot been found to he exhausted, orto have sensibly and permanentlydecreased at any depth which hasyet been obtained by mining.”

Baron Eichthofen, an eminentEuropean Geologist, says “There isno reason to doubtthat the equalityof average produce and yieldthroughout the entire length of theComstock vein, will continue down-ward to any depth, besides thevery obvious, theoretical conclu-sion that vast amounts of silvercould not be carried into the fissurefrom the overlying or enclosingrocks, but naturally had to risefrom unknown depths through thechannel of the fissure itself, to bedeposited in it; where the con-ditions for sublimationor precipita-tion where given in its open space,experience in other countries, by nomeans shows of a regular decreaseor increase in yield as of commonoccurrence, though either of themmay happen.” More commonly theproduce of true fissure veins inprecious metals has been found tobe about constant. J. Arthur Phil-lips in his great work on the miningand Metallurgy of gold and silver,says, “the most productive silvermines of the Harz are those in theneighborhood of Andreasburg, ofwhich the most extensive are theSamson and Neufang mines, whichare worked to a depth of 430 En-glish fathoms or 2,580 feet.”

The same authority says, “sev-eral mines at Clausthal have beenworked at a depth of 300 fathoms


or 1800 feet, at Kongsberg, Norway,280 fathoms; at Schemnitz, Hun-gary, 200 fathoms; at Ivackimsthal,Saxony, 325 fathoms.”

“ On our own continent the sameauthority gives the depth of theVeta Madre mines at Guanaxnato,Mexico, at 300 fathoms, and of theYalanciana mine at the same placeat 350 fathoms.

On the celebrated Comstock inNevada, the workings have ex-tended to a depth of over 1200 feet.The similarity of the veins in Colo-rado to many of those mentionedabove, together with the fact thatthe country rock is of the samecharacter, and the ores true silverbearing forces the conclusion, thatthe fissure veins in Colorado arecontinuous in depth.

TUNNELS.No mining country on the Ameri-

can continent has been more ad-mirably fitted by the hand of natureand nature’s God for working minesby tunnels than that of Colorado.The mountains rise to an elevationabove the valleys of from 1200 to3200 feet, in many cases almostperpendicular, but generally at anangle between 25 and 45 degrees.The veins running parallel with thesides of the mountains offer superiorinducements for the driving of tun-nels from the base of the mountains,to cut the veins at right angles,from which levels can be run longdistances each side of the tunnels,and inclines towards the surface,opening up a large amount of groundthat can be mined cheaply, and the

mined ore brought to the surfaceon tram ways. It is estimated oncompetent authority, that the costof mining and bringing the ores tothe surface will be from 40 to 50per cent, less than by shafts.

But the greatest benefit to be de-rived from this mode of mining, isthe facility with which the minescan be drained, This question ofdrainage is one that has from thefirst discovery and working of minesbeen agitated and canvassed in allits bearing, and has given birth tomany grand, stupendous achieve-ments in the engineering world.There is not now and never can beany question, but that drainage bytunnels is the cheapest and mosteconomical, and in support of this,Overman in his treatise on Metal-urgy, says, “where the amount ofwater received by infilitration orotherwise is great in amine, it is inall cases, if practicable, advisableto excavate a drift for drainage.”

Humboldt in his Assay PolitiqueSur la Nouvelle Espagne, publishedin 1803, in reference to the YetaMadre of Guanajuato, Mexico, says,“It is indeed strange that mines ofsuch richness have no tunnels fordraining. When the neighboringravines of Cata and Marfil and theplains of Tumascetio, which are be-low the level of the lowest works ofthe Valenciana mine, would seemto invite the miner to commenceworks which would serve for drain-age, and at the same time affordfacilities tor transporting materialsto the smelting and amalgamatingworks.”

In the report of the committee ofthe Mechanics Institute, San Fran-


Cisco, we find the following inregardto the English Real Del Monte Co.,Mexico. “They became in 1823 thepossessors of the Biscanya andseveral other veins, the formerhaving been worked for many yearsand having yielded large amountsof silver prior to 1749; at that datean intelligent miner namedBusta-mente, concluded to run an adit ortunnel in order to effect theirdrainage. He labored long andpatiently, and was supplied withmeans by Don Pedro Terreros, whocontinued the work after the de-cease of Bustamente. In 1759the vein was reached by running atunnel 9000 feet in length, cuttingthe vein at a depth of 600 feet be-neath the surface, and exposing toview an immense bod) r of ore. Ter-reros in the twelve succeeding yearsdrew from his mines a clear profitof $6,000,000. His successor thesecond Count, continued the work-ing of the mines but not with equalprofit, for the upper portion of thevein being worked out, he was com-pelled to go below the water, andthe water encountered required1200 horses to pump it. out, at anannual expenditure of $250,000.After struggling for many years,and after a depth of 324 feet underthe adit had been reached the workwas abandoned, and the mine al-lowed to fill with water.”

After the mine had reached adepth of 710 feet under the adit,(1,310 feet below the surface), thedifficulties of drainage had so in-creased both from augmented quan-tity of water and the greater heightto raise it to the point of discharge,

that three powerful steam enginescould barely stem the coming watersof the mine-

A deeper adit which had to bedriven a distance of 13,500feet, hadbeen commenced by the secondCount. The English company, un-

fortunately,adopted the more speedyplan, as it was supposed, of employ-ing steam engines instead of sloweror surer plan of driving home thedeep adit which could have beendone with the investment of butlittle more capital than that expend-ed in applying steam engines, andwould no doubt have given a verydifferent turn to the fortune of thatcompany. The report further says :

“The history of the Beal Del Montemine teaches a valuable lesson, con-firmed by the result of almost everysimilar enterprise in Mexico. Theyshow that after a certain depthhas been reached, and no tunnelsconstructed, the mines have beenabandoned and the proprietors ruin-ed.” R. N. Strech, Esq., State Mine-ralogist of Nevada, says of the Com-stock : “Ifwe take into considerationthecost ofmachinery, ofannual addi-tionsandrepairs, and ofconsumptionof fuel, wages of employees, delayscaused by breaking ofpump, expenseof explorations, obstacles in securinggood ventilationand increase of heatwith the depth, and the financialresult of past years, we are forced tothe conclusion that the mode nowadopted of working these mines can-not long be prosecuted with profitto the owners.” The most remark-able work of thiskind in Great Bri-tain, is the great adit in Cornwall,ofwhich a great English writer says:“The advantages of working mines


by adits are well shown at the Uni-ted Mines, near Redruth, where anadit has been driven, commencingonly a few feet above the sea level,which, with its branches, has alength of from thirty to forty miles,and a depth under the mines offrom 180 to 420 feet. By means ofthis work, a saving in the consump-tion of coal is effected amounting to24,000 tons per annum.” This mag-nificent undertaking was completedin 1768.

The Harz mines yield but $500,-000, per annum in precious metals,and they found it a matter of ne-cessity and economy to run a tunnelfourteen miles long in the Harzmountain, in order to obtain an ad-ditional drainage of 300 feet.

The Eotheschoenberger tunnel atFreiberg, Saxony, which is not quitecompleted, will be eight miles long.In Hungary, at the celebrated minesof Schemnitz, a drain tunnel exists,calledafter the Emperor Joseph, thesecond, which has a length of overnine miles.

Baron Von Beust, chief of themining department of the Kingdomof Saxony, does not hesitate to de-clare, that a deep adit should bedesignated as one of the most heal-thy, most useful and most hopefulmining enterprises which couldpossibly be undertaken, and for thatvery reason, deserves the highestconsideration in a financial, politico-economical and scientific view.—Then again, Bernhard Von Cotta,Prof, of Geology, at the MiningAcademy of Frieberg, says: “Thatthere can be no question, that theopening up of a lode by a deep tun-

nel, will facilitate to quite an ex-traordinary degree, mining uponthe same, and in every other regard,make it more profitable. And heclaims the following advantages inworking the mines by means of atunnel, “a. In facilitating drainageand ventilation. It. In facilitatingtransportation not only of the oresfrom the mines, since reductionworks may be established near themouth, but also of the materialandtimber required in a portion of themines, c. In facilitating the entryand exit for the miners, d. In anycase the possibility will be acquiredby means thereof, to work the lodesto a much greater depth than with-out the tunnel, and it is probablein the highest degree, that the tun-nel will open up new and similarlodes.”

JuliusWeisbach, Dr. Phil. Royal,Saxonian Mining Councellor andProfessor at the Mining AcademyatFrieberg, says: “The execution ofa tunnel will not only save minesfrom approaching abandonment, butwill be the means of very largelyincreasing their yield. A tunnelwhich with a length of about oneGerman mile, opens up rich ore ata depth of 2,000 feet, secures to aprofessional mining engineer themost welcome and surest means forprofiitable operations, particularlyin a country where no cheap fuel ex-ists for the purpose of generatingsteam. Such a tunnel removes thenecessity of using pumping enginesfor many years to come, it facili-tates and cheapens it, gives further-more, many opportunities for addi-tional exploration of the countryand discovery of new bodies of ore.

A Surry-graph of Colorado and its Silver Mines.16

The tunnel also, makes it possible toderive a profit from the great massesof poor ores.”

Dr. H. Yon Dechen, Acting PrivyConncellor of the King of Prussiaand late chiefof the Mining Depart-ment, confirms the views of all theeminent authors we have quoted,and says; “That the plans of con-structing a deep tunnel to the goldor silver mines, corresponds withthe approved rules of mining en-gineering, and will carry with it themost happy results.

H. Koch, Esq., Eoyal PrussianChief Mining Engineer, say : “Itcannot be doubted, according to allmining experience, that the min-eral bearing lodes near Virginiacity, will continue downwardat least2,000 feet. Equally probable is it,that by means of a tunnel, a min-ing district of high importance willbe opened, the working of whichwill only be made possible by meansof a tunnel, and at the possiblysmallest expense.”

Bruno Keer, Brofessor at the RoyalMining School of Berlin, remarks:“That only by means of a tunnel,can a metalliferous mountain rangebe opened properly, according tothe principles of mining engineer-ing, a well regulated extraction cantake place with such a tunnel, andpoor ores may be taken out with ad-vantage along with the rich ores, on

account of the cheap transportation.This is absolutely necessary if thedurability of the mine is to besecured; while piratical mining , theextraction of the best ores alone,will always soon ruin any mine.”

Dr. Phil. Burkhart, Royal Prus-sianPrivy Conncellor,claims the fol-lowing advantages to be derivedfrom tunnels: “Ist. They cheapendrainage, compared to the applica-tion of machinery. 2d. They per-mit not only an examination of thecountry traversed, and the discove-ry of the metalliferous deposit con-tained therein, but also a rationaland regular system of mining. 3d.They facilitate ventilation, trans-portation and extraction of ore,therefore, decrease the expense inthese operations, and consequently:4th. Allow the extraction and re-duction of poor ores which other-wise could not be turned to account.sth. They increase theyield, and theprofits of the mine owners, and also,what is to be considered more par-ticularly; 6th. They make it pos-sible to reach far below the tunnellevel, and to extract the ores occur-ring there, at a profit. 7th. There-by putting into operation gold andsilver which these ores yield—adead capital, slumbering in thebowels of the earth, increasing thenational wealth.” And in alludingto the silver mines of Mexico, hesays: “That the losses occasionedin Mexico by neglecting the timelyconstruction of deep tunnels cannotbe given in figures. The high ex-pense for pumping those for ex-ploration, preparation and trans-portation, but especially the factthat ores had to be left behind inin the mines,which could have beenextracted by a rational system ofmining.

The Committee on Federal Rela-tions of the Nevada Legislature,made an elaborate report on the ne-


cessity of tunneling the Comstocklode, from which we quote; ‘Manydifficulties present themselves indeep mining, which increase in afearful ratio as depth increases, andthe profits which have alreadydwindled down to a small amount,soon thereafterwill be absorbed en-tirely, and thenhe exceeded by thecost of mining. The fate of thesemines, if no remedy is found, istherefore clearly foreshadowed.

Necessity of a TunnelThe only remedy, positive omd

sure in its operation, which presentsitself is the construction of a deepadit or tunnel. It will cut themines at a depth of 2,000 feet,draining off the water to that depthby its natural flow, securing thebest ventilation, cooling the atmos-phere in the mine, furnishing facil-ities for transportation, and makingit possible to dispense with allpumping and hoisting machinery,for the miner can enter the minesfrom below, work upwards, and theore will fall by its own gravity;whilst a railroad in the tunnel willtransport the same at small cost tothe adjacent valley. Such are someof the considerations which presentthemselves, and which show thatthe proposed work is a matterof vital importance, and one of ab-solute necessity to the State of Ne-vada, and the necessity of provid-xng means for draining the Corn-stock lode, by means of a deep draintunnel, and the immediate con-struction of such a work is endorsed:

The Bank of California.

Messrs. Chas. Ponner, Supt. ofGould & Gurry, S. M. Co.

Jno. B. Winters, Pres’t YellowJacket S. M. Co.

F. A. Trute, Pres’t Belcher S. M.Co.

H. Beckwith, Supt. MexicanMines.

O. H. Frank, Supt. Central S.M.Co.

P. K. McKay, Supt. CaliforniaS. M. Co.

Jas. Morgan, Pres't Sides Co.S. F. Curtis, Supt. Savage Mining

Co.

With twenty-nine other Presidentsand Superintendents of MiningCompanies, as also, by Messrs. JohnParrott; Louis McLane; W. C. Pals-ton, Bankers, San Francisco; Paxton& Thornburg; Hasting & Co,; Pull-ling & Co.; Paul & Co.; Maynard &

Flood, Bankers, Virginia City, Ne-vada.

Dr. Geisslen, in his report on theErnst August tunnel, in the Plarzdistrict, says : “There hasbeen draintunnels in the Harz for a long time,,which were used as canals, for thetransportation of ores already. Atthe commencement of the sixteenthcentury, mechanical means to re-move the water from the mines wereinsufficient, and drain tunnels wereconstructed at that early period.The first tunnel was commenced in1525, another in 1548, one in 1551,and still another in 1573. By aidof these tunnels, mining was con-tinuedin those districts for two hun-dred years,'’ but about the middleof the last century it became diffi-cult again to master the water.


In 1850,after careful surveys anddue consideration, the constructionof the Ernst Tunnel was resolvedupon; it was to commence at Git-telde, a little town at the foot ofHarz Mountains, and it was esti-mated that twenty-two years wouldbe required for its completion, butit only took a little over half thattime, for it was entirely completedin twelve years and eleven months.This tunnel has a uniform fall of 74-10ths inches to each 630 feet. Itsheight is 8 feet 3 inches, its width5 feet 6 inches, and its shape thatof an egg. The water has a suffi-cient depth to allow the use of longflat boats for the transportation ofore. A part of the water course iscovered over to be used as a side-walk for the miners.

Messrs. P. Forney Spear and W.H. Trego, of Baltimore, Md., whovisited Colorado to examine themines, report that “Tunneling isproved to be the only true methodof working mines where the Moun-tains are favorably formed.”

Prof. Blatchley, who has been en-gaged under J. Eoss Browne, lateGovernment Commissioner to collectstatistics on the mines, made thefollowing report in 1867, when theSilver Mines of Colorado were butpartially developed:

“Having recently made an exami-nation of the Silver Mines in thevicinity of Georgetown, 1 am en-abled to give the following factsconcerning them.

“Amount of Ore.—The silver-bearing veins are very numerous,and many of them of large size, car-rying a good per centage of ore thatcan be profitably reduced.

“Extent of Veins.—Having beenbut recently discovered, no deepshafts have been sunk, to provewhether the favorable appearanceat the surface continues to a greatdepth. But as veins of large size,and carrying the same varieties ofore, have been found from the bot-tom of Clear Creek Canon to thesummit of the surrounding moun-tains, an opportunity is afforded ofexamining the veins for a verticalheight of over three thousand feet.This is a better proof of their depthand continuity than finding goodore at the bottom of a shaft twothousand feet from the summit ofthe mountains.

11Tunneling. —Theveins are foundin the abrupt and precipitous sidesof the mountains, and offer greatfacilities for opening and workingby means of tunnels, thus obviatingthe necessity of expensive machineryfor hoisting andpumping. In minesthus worked, one or two miners canopen a vein and extract the ore withno other capital thorn their own labor.With veins of large size, and such

facilities for extracting the ore, theamount of ore that will he takenfrom,these mines for some years to come,will be limited only by the facilitiesfor reduction."

The America Mining Company ofColorado report that “By means oftunnels very important advantagesar& gained: Ist. The expense ofhoisting is saved; 2d. The minesbecome self-draining, and the use ofcostly pumping engines is obviated ;

3d. Transportation from the minesto the mills is greatly reduced ; 4th.The mines are worked at greaterdepths, where the ore is muchricher,

A Hurry-graph of Colorado and its Silver Mines 19

and the lodes wider, than nearer thesurface; sth. New lodes are discov-ered, which do not show on the sur-face, thus increasing materially thevalue of the Company’s property—

experience having demonstratedthat the country is full of ‘blindlodes,’ equal in extent and richnessto the best.

“This Company, in opening up itstunnels, found two ‘blind lodes,’covered by the debris which hadworked down the mountain side.One of these lodes contains over twofeet of mineral-bearing quartz, andis of considerable value. It is be-lieved that many more such lodeswill be developed as tunnels pro-gress, and that in this way the Com-pany’s property will eventually bedoubled in extent.”

Hon. J. B. Chaffee, United StatesSenator elect from Colorado, andPresidentof theFirst National Bankof Denver, asserts that “in regard toLeavenworth Mountain in ColoradoTerritory and the Silver Lodes init, I can justly state that I am per-sonally acquainted with severalLodes on thatmountain, and believeit to be as rich as any yet discover-ed. There is no doubt in my mindthat a tunnel properly located tocross the veins, if properly con-structed, will be a paying invest-ment. It is the cheapest and mostexpeditious way to work the mines,and this mountain affords an excel-lent opportunity for such purposes,enabling you to reach the Lodes ata great depth from the surface.

“I look upon this way of miningas by far the best and most eco-nomical on every point, embracingthe catalogue of mining expenses.

Such enterprises about Georgetown,where the facilities are so great andthe shape of the mountain so advan-tageous, cannot well fail to be suc-cessful.”

Hon. 0. J. Hollister, Collector ofInternal Revenue, Utah Territory,and author of “The Mines of Colo-iado,” in referring to the mines ofClear Creek County, remarks that“the quartz mines now engage theprincipal effort; they are consideredfirst-class, and are universally welllocated for tunneling. The advan-tages of tunneling where the groundwill permit, for instance, wherethere is ample room on the creeksfor the rubble, and where the hillsrise at an angle of 45 degrees ormore, from the streams to a greatheight, can hardlybe over-estimated.Its cost in Colorado at present isbetween $25 and SBO a foot. Allground above the tunnel may bebroken down instead of up, whichin itself is a great saving of time,labor and powder, as every practi-cal miner knows. The water runsoff through the tunnel and the oremay be conveyed on dump carsthrough the same channel into themill, saving costly hoisting andpumping machinery and power, theconstruction of surface roads, a greatdeal of heavy teaming and excava-ting for wheel and shaft houses.Mining hy means of tunnels ought topay handsome dividends on unwater-ed capitals on ten dollar rode; pro-vided the veins are of average size,regularity and richness, and where atunnel can attain a depth of one, twoor three thousandfeet, in the course

of a reasonable length, the groundabove will he seen to he clear gain,

A Hurry-graph of Colorado and its Silver Mines.20

when it is remembered that beyond acertain depth it is unprofitable tomine, because the expense of hoistingthe ore and water, overbalance thevalue of the ore. The advantages ofunlimitedwaterpower and mining bytunnels, are common to every part ofClear Greek County.”

Prof. F. Y. Hayden, United StatesGeologist, in a communication, says :

“The Brown Mountain is solid mas-sive granite, and is tunneled withgreat difficulty, while the Leaven-worth seems to he so hrolcen up hyjointage that it is tunneledwith com-parative ease."

Prof. F. Schirmer, Superintendentof the United States Mint, Denver,reports: “The mountains are verysteep and abrupt, and consequentlythe true method of working thesemines is hy tunneling; hy this meansthe mines are drained free of cost,and the expense of working them isgreatly reduced.”

In the New York Herald, Decem-ber 4th, 1869, we find the followingfrom its special correspondent inreference to mining in Colorado ;

“The contour of the mountains,which rise from a thousand to overthree thousand feet above the levelof the valleys, some nearly perpen-dicular, but most of them at anglesranging from twenty-five to forty-five degrees, isparticularly favorablefor tunnels. The strike of the veinswith the bend of the mountain en-ables them to be cut at right anglesby the tunnelsat a depth to whichthe sinking of shafts would be ex-ceedingly expensive. Levels andinclines can be run in different di-rections, from which large quanti-ties of ore can be taken at a com-

paratively trifling cost and run outof the tunnels upon tramways. Thismode of conveyance supercedes thehoisting of ores in buckets out ofshafts, and the expense of steampower attending it, as well as thecost (which is heavy) of hauling oresfrom the mouths of the shafts to themills. The tunnels are run in on aslight incline so that the water flowsout along the gutters on each side,and the mine is self draining. Thisdoes away with the inconvenienceand expense ofdraining, as in shafts,by means of pumps or buckets. Al-together the tunnels will ultimatelyprove eminently economical and ad-vantageous, and, it is truly said, aredestined to be the keys that are tounlock the silver treasures of thesemountains.”

Mr. Charles Burleigh, of Fitch-burg, Mass., the inventor of the cele-brate “Burleigh Machine Drill,”visited Colorado, and we quote fromthe Denver Nexus that “he is reallyenthusiastic over therichness of theores, the number and proximity ofthe lodes, the favorable character ofthe ground for tunneling, the beautyof the country, the character of thepeople, the probable results to him-self, the drill company of Coloradogenerally, of his proposed enterprise,and means to get at it as soon aspossible, within a very few weeks,”and since then Mr. Burleigh hasbeen successfully engaged in tunnel-ing in the Sherman Mountain, andwhen we last visited his tunnel, ithadbeen driven in near six hundredfeet, and again we find in the Den-ver News of April 23d, the follow-ing interesting item in reference tothe success of mining by tunnels:

A Hurry-graph of Colorado and its Silver Alines. 21

“Such announcements as the follow-ing, from a reliable correspondentat Georgetown, should set at restany doubts as to the value of Colo-rado ores, or the profitableness ofmining properly conducted.

“We’ve a big tiling in the mountains,And are sure to strike it yet.”

In fact, we have struck it, andkeep striking it, richer and richerevery time.

Georgetown, April 21, 1870.Editors News: It affords me

great satisfaction to inform yourreaders that mining by tunnels is asuccess in Clear Creek County. Lastnight the workmen in the MorrisTunnel, situated on Columbia moun-tain, Griffith district, “struck” asolid vein of mineral, three incheswide, that assays $6,142per ton. Isend you the first silverbutton fromthis new wonder.

On the Sutro tunnel, in Nevada,on which work was commenced a

short time since, and which is nowin over a thousand feet, will be,when completed, twenty thousandone hundred and seventy-eight feetin length, cutting the Comstock onethousand nine hundred and twenty-two feet below the floor of the Sav-age works.

In order to show the great feasi-bility of driving tunnels in themountains of Colorado, not only fordrainage, but also for cheapeningthe expense of mining and deliver-ing the ore at the surface, we givethe figures of the length of tunneland depth from the summitat whichsome of these enterprises will reach.

The Marshall tunnelwill be 1,922feet in length when under the surn-

Mit of Leavenworth Mountain and1,970 feet in depth. The wholelengthof the tunnel when completedthrough the mountain will be 3,912feet.

The Helmick tunnel, in the samemountain, will cut the summit 1,250feet in a distance of 2,050, and willpass under the left hand fork ofSouth Clear Creek in Griffith moun-tain 400 feet below the surface ofthe water.

The Burleigh tunnel will cut theTerrible mine on Sherman mountainover 800 feet in depth, in a distanceof 1,080 feet, and the summit of themountain 3,200 feet deep in a dis-tance of 3,500 feet.

The National, of Baltimore, tun-nel, in Brown mountain, will cutthe Brown mine in a distance of 622feet, 465 feet in depth; the Coin 915feet deep in a distance of 1,150; theLilly 1,811 feet deep in a distanceof 1,580 feet, and the Summit of themountain 2,140 feet deep in a dis-tance of 2,710.

The Merchants and Mechanics’Company, of Baltimore, have a tun-nel near the Burleigh, that willstrike and cut the mines on itscourse at nearly the same distancesas the Burleigh.

The McAfee tunnel will cut theMurley Lode 500 feet in depth indriving 450, and the summit ofSherman mountain 1,500 feet deepin driving that distance.

The Par tunnel will cut that vein400 feet deep in driving 350 feet.

The Morris tunnel will cut thesummit of Columbia mountain 1,500deep in a distance of 800 feet.


The Rhodes tunnel, on Leaven-worth Mountain, will cut the sum-mit 970 feet deep in a distance of1,790 feet and will cut the George

Law mine in a distance of 100 feet65 feet in depth; the Peep-O’-Daymine in 160 feet 100 feet in depth;the Rocky Mountain mine in 425feet 260 feet in depth; the Gilpinmine in 1,070feet 664 feet in depth.

The Faughn and Croston tunnelsare to run in on the same mountain.These tunnels are all being activelydriven at the present time withevery indication of success. Besidesthese are the Hash and Linn tun-nels, which are also being driveninto Leavenworth mountain, butfrom which we have not the figures.Among those projected, and whichwill soon go into active operation,are the Philadelphia tunnel in Brunemountain and the Wagstaff in Lea-venworth mountain.

By comparison between the figuresgiven of the length and depth fromthe surface of tunnels here, and theSutro, in Hevada; the Ernst August,in the Harz; the United, near Red-ruth, in England, and the Biscanya,in Mexico, it will be seen thatColorado offerssuperior inducementsto this class of mining, and thus isthe “key” being forged that will un-lock the great treasures confined inthe Everlasting Hill of Colorado.

Cost of Mining by Tunnels.We have given our reasons sup-

ported by undoubted authority whymining shouldalways be conducted,wherever practicable, by tunnels.We now propose to examine intothe cost of this branch of mining.

The Hare Castle Tunnel on theTrent and Mersey Canal, England,58,778 feet in length, sectional di-mensions 14,416 feet, cost $57.05per foot lineal.

The Blissworth Tunnel on theGrand Junction Canal, England, is9,240 feet in length, sectional di-mensions 16L418 feet, cost $24,181per foot lineal.

Edge Hill Tunnel on the Liver-pool and Manchester Railroad, En-gland, is 6,600 feet in length,sectional dimensions 22,160 feet,cost 30.15 per foot lineal.

The Henhe Tunnels near Mar-seilles, is 15,153feet long, the costof mining the body of the tunnelwas $139,79 1-24 per running yard.

The Sutro Tunnel in Hevadawhich is 20,178 feet, will costsl,6B3-616,49, orcostper lineal foot $98,25-In Colorado, the Marshall Tunnelpaid $16,800 for tunneling 600 feetor $28.00 per lineal foot. TheHelmick Silver Mining Companyof Washington, are paying S3O alineal foot. The Morris Mining Co.of Washington pay the same price,and from estimates made, theRhodes, Faughn and Croston (An-ker’s) Tunnels, can be driven in ata cost not to exceed $25.00 perlineal foot. These prices includelabor, timber, track iron, tramways, picks, drills, powder, &c. Inthe annual report of the State Min-eralogist of the State of Hevada, for1866, page 93, it is stated that thecost of sinking the shaft of theGould and Curry Silver Mine, ex-clusive of engines and machinery ,

was $75,378.40, depth attained692£ feet, per foot $109.36, showing


conclusively that in the matter ofcost for actually opening a lode,it is cheaper to mine by tunnel thanby sinking shafts

THE ANKER TUNNELS ANDSILVER MINES,

Consist of theRhodes tunnel, whichis located at the base of LeavenworthMountain, Griffith Mining District,Clear Creek County, Colorado, aboutone mile from Georgetown,and is oneof the best commenced and well tim-bered tunnels that has been startedin that vicinity. It has been al-ready driven in some twenty feet,with the dimensions of eight feetwide and seven feet high.

This tunnel is so located as to strikeat right angles, among many others,the following namedLodes: At a dis-tance of 100 feet, the “GeorgeLaw,” 65 feet deep; at 160 feet the“Peep-O’Day,” 100feet deep; at 200feet the “Castillo,” 120feet deep; at270 feet the“Washington,” 165feetdeep; at 320 feet the“Montezuma,”195 feet deep; at 300 feet the “P.H. Rhodes,” 212 feet deep; at 300feet the “Gregory,” 240 feet deep;at 425 feet the “Rocky Mountain,”260 feet deep; at 600 feet the “Simp-son,” 335 feet deep; at 685 feet the“Lorenzo,” 430 feet deep; at 970feet the “Jackson,” 612 feet deep;at 1070 feet the “Gilpin,” 664 feetdeep; at 1120 feet the “Livermore,”690 feet deep; at 1300 feet the“Cambria,” 800 feet deep; at 1790feet the “Winnesheck,” 970 feetdeep; at 1880 feet; the “Hickory,”920 feet deep; at 2000 feet the

“Brooklyn,” 860 feet deep; at 2070feet the “Bendigo,” 830 feet deep;at 2120 feet the “Ben Wade,” 800feet deep; at 2180 feet the“Adrian,”750 feet deep; at 2300 feet the‘ *Rose, ’ ’ 685 feet deep; at 2440 feet the“Bank,” 600 feet deep; at 2545 feetthe “Mercer County,” 565 feet deep;at 2660 feet the “Apache,” 520 feetdeep; at 2750 feet the “Cataract,”480 feet deep; at 2810 feet the“Kane,” 458 feet deep; at 2890 feetthe “Dunderberg,” 420 feet deep.

The Croston Tunnel lies betweenthe Rhodes and the Faughn tun-nels. Has been driven about thesame distance, and will cut nearlythe same veins as the Rhodes.

The Faughn Tunnel is nearly athousand feet higher up the creekand beyond the Rhodes tunnel. Isnow in a distance of over thirtyfeet. It is eight feet wide by sevenhigh, to allow a double track forcars suitable for carrying out oreand rock. Having been startedwithin a few feet of Clear Creek,it possesses an additional value fromits proximity to water, which, in thefuture, will be necessary for venti-lating and other purposes. Thefollowing mines, beside many others,will be struck by the tunnel: TheSquare and Compass, the Indigo,Troy, Tom Thumb, Creole, Peep-O’-Day, Argentine, George Law,Mountain View, Rocky Mountainand Washington.

In connection with, and in theimmediate vicinity of the tunnels,is a very valuable mill site andwater power, having a front of600 feet, with a depth of 300 feet.The volume of water is sufficientto furnish any amount of water

A Hurry-graph of Colorado and its Silva)' Mines.24

power for propelling machinery.An excellent wagon road, leadingfrom Georgetown over the SnowyRange to Snake River, passes by theproperty, making it easy of access.

Two buildings erected for theuse of the miners who have workedon the mines, one being 16 feet by36, containing three rooms, theother about sixteen feet square, be-long to and accompany the tunnelsand mines.

Tom thumb lode—666f lineal feet.This Lode is situated on Leaven-

worth mountain, a short distanceeast and above the great Equatorlode. The crevice is full eight feetwide, showing well defined walls,and carrying a strong deposit ofverjr rich mineral, from four toeight inches in width The dis-covery shaft has gained a depthof twenty feet. Some of the richestore found in Colorado has beentaken from this mine. Large pieces,by actual test, have been found tocontain silver at the rate of $l,OOOto the ton.

The ore carries a large quantityof sulphurebs of silver, with con-siderable argentiferous galena of avery fine grain.

Select specimens of ore from thismine have yielded by fire assay$1,200 and $3,000 per ton of 2,000pounds.

Prof. hi. P. Hill of the ColoradoSmelting Works, made the followingreturns on 1087 pounds of TomThumb ore :

1087 lbs. wet weight,1077 ‘ dry weight,

.588 ton.

Assay 590 ozs. silver per ton,590 ozs. at $1.20 per oz. $7OB per ton..538 ton at $7OB, 380.90Freight added 8.30

889.20(Signed.) N. P. HILL.

Prof.A.VonSchultz.

Assayerat

CentralCity,

Colorado,madefive

assaysoforetakenfromthis

mine,withthe

followingresult:

Silverpertonof2,000lbs.No.1

565.33-100ozs.coinvalue$678.30

“

“

“

“

“

“

4i

2

564.84-100ozs.“

“

677.83

“

“

“

“

“

“

“

3

604.36-100ozs.“

“

677.33

“““

. “““

4

570.68-100ozs.“

“

684,81

“

“

“

“

‘

“

“

5

566.65-100ozs.“

“

679.98

From Prof. N. Hill, of the Col-orado Smelting Works.

Black Hawk, June Itth, 1810.M. Anker, Esq. —Dear Sir:

In reply to your questions about thequality of the ore sent to our works fromthe Tom Thumb lode, I would say, thatMr. Crane sent us at one time IOY6 lbs.which assayed 590 ozs. of silver per ton,and was worth $ll6 per ton. I paid himat this rate for the ore.

Yours truly,N. P. HILL.


State of lowa,Jefferson County, ss.

George Craine being first duly sworn,upon, his oath deposes and says, that dur-ing the summer and fall of 1869, he workedon the “Tom Thumb” Silver Lode, situ-ated on Leavenworth Mountain, ClearCreek County, Colorado Territory, andthat he is perfectly familiar with the char-acter of this mine.

Affiant further says, that said silver lodehas a crevice of nearly or quite eight feetbetween the walls with a streak of richsulphuret ore, varying from four to teninches in width, that will yield by assayfrom five to fifteen hundred dollarsper ton.

Affiant farthersays, that theresult of thefirst fourteen dayswork done on this mine,commencing from the surface of the ground•—two men seven days—was ten hundredand some odd pounds of ore, that he (thisaffiant) sold to Prof. N. P. Hill, for $389,besides as much more of second class ore,supposed to be worth about $l5O per ton.

Dated at Fairfield, lowa, this 22dday ofJune, 1810.

GEORGE CRAINE.

State of lowa,Jefferson County, ss.

I, George Craine, being duly sworn, onoath deposeand say, that the above and thestatements therein made and signed by meare true as I verily believe.

GEORGE CRAINE,Subscribed in my presence and sworn to

before me this 22d day of June, ISIO.WM. K. ALEXANDER.

Justice of the Peace.

ceeole lode —666f lineal feet.

The “Creole is situated on Leav-enworth mountain, 250 feet northof the Tom Thumb, and has a shafttwenty feet in depth. The creviceof the lode is over six feet in width,and in the bottom of the shaftthere is a mineral vein of abouteight inches in thickness, of ore,very similar to that on the surface,

assaying from $5OO to $l,OOO perton. The ores obtained near thesurface of the shaft, contain a largepercentage of galena, green andblue carbonates of copper, and ap-parently some grey copper. Speci-mens from this mine, contributed tothe Paris Exposition, held in Parisin 1867, were among the ores thatreceived the first gold medal.

argentine lode—666f lineal feet.

The “Argentine” lies above theCreole lode, and is one of the oldestdiscoveries of the Silver Belt.From its massive crevice, strongvein, and large amount of mineral,it has secured the well deservedreputation, of being one of thelargest and most valuable minesdiscovered in Colorado, not so muchfor the quality of the ore, but fromits immense quantity.

The width of the crevice variesfrom five to ten feet, has one

mineral streak of over twelve inchesof solid argentiferous galena andantimony, that contains from $5Oto $lOO of silver to the ton, besidesan average proportion of lead, ofbut little less, if any, of fifty percent. An assay of ore made by theBritish and Colorado Mining Bu-reau, London, gave a return of 67Joz. silver per ton, and 51J per cent,lead. The GermanReduction "Worksof L. Lluepeden & Co., at George-town, in 1869, treated one ton ofsecond class ore—all the Galena ore,(first class,) having been pickedout—that yielded 43 ozs. silver, or$55.90.


The lode is opened by two shafts,one haying a depth of thirty toforty feet. On the ground by thedeepest shaft there is now out fromabout twenty tons of first andsecond class ores. The vein hasbeen proved to be continuous, nothaving varied much from the firstindications, which was one foot ofsolid mineral, enclosed in secondquality of ore, from three to fourfeet in thickness.

troy LODE—266 lineal feet.

The Troy lode runs parallel withthe “Tom Thumb,” and but a shortdistance from it. The vein has thesame characteristics as the TomThumb—shows similar ore—thoughin a smaller quantity, and withfurther development, will undoubt-edly prove valuable and remunera-tive. Has a shaft ten feet deep,with a crevice of four feet, carryingfrom cne to three inches of sulphu-reted ore.

rocky mountain—100 lineal feet.

The Eocky Mountain lode isopened between the Gregory andSimpson lodes. Is well developedby a shaft and drift of twenty feet,from which several tons of ore wastaken. It now exhibits severalinches of fine mineral, that consistsprincipally of argentiferous galena.The lode has been opened by asecond shaft of twelve feet deep,where the vein shows very favora-bly, and gives promise of large re-turns. From an assay made by

Clias. H. Moor, Esq., Chemist, therich result of $484.84 of silver tothe ton was obtained.

peep-o’day lode—200 lineal feet.

The Peep-O’Day lode is immedi-ately above the George Law lode.A shaft on the discovery has beensunk to the depth of twenty feet,showing a five foot crevice, withsix inches of fine looking mineral—mostly galena, containing sulphu-rets to a small extent. An assaymade of some of the ore gave a re-sult of $11.14 silver to the ton,which is the smallest exhibit re-turned from the mine.

GEORGE LAW.

The George Law lode is openedby a shaft, within a few feet of, andbelow the Peep-O'Day lode. Hasa strong and large crevice whichcarries a number of inches of ore,rich in argentiferous galena andsulphurets—also showing carbo-nates of copper. A specimen ofthe ore was lately assayed andfound to contain $17.00 silver tothe ton. The lode ranks amongthe most valuable on the mountain,and further development will un-doubtedly prove it to be one of themost profitable.

RIGHT BOWER—2OO lineal feet.

The Eight Bower lode was dis-covered at the base of the moun-tain, near the creek, about one hun-dred feet from the Brazilian lode,


at which place a drift of twentyfeet was run in on the vein, expos-ing when the work was suspendeda strong vein of quartz with an orestreak of several inches, the mineralbeing principally argentiferous ga-lena.

BRAZILIAN —200 lineal feet.

The Brazilian lode as the “EightBower,” was opened at the base ofthe mountain. But little work hav-ing been done on the lode, no orehas been found—though the indica-tions are favorable for it.

forbes—6661 lineal feet.

The Forbes lode runs parallelwith that below the Tom Thumblode —and is developed by a shaftten feet deep, exhibiting ore similarin character and quality as theRight Bower lode.

costilla—6661 lineal feet.

The Costilla lode is opened abouttwo hundred feet below the dis-covery of the Rocky Mountain.Has a shaft ten feet deep. A cre-vice five feet wide. Shows goodquartz and but little mineral.

R. h. Rhodes—1400 lineal feet.

The P. H. Rhodes lode is openedon the discovery by a shaft fifteenfeet in depth. The crevice is fromfour to five feet wide, carrying adark stained quartz interspersed

throughout with galena, and froman assay made by L. Huepeden &

Co., we find the ore to yield 21 ozs.of silver to the ton.

LIVERMORE—1000 lineal feet.

TheLivermore lode lies below (?)

the Gilpin, and is parallel with it.Was drifted on sixteen feet. Thecrevice is one of the largest on themountain—having a width vary-ing from five to ten feet. Themineral vein is from six to sixteeninches wide. Eight or ten tons ofore and quartz are now out at thesurface of the mine, and the oresassay variously from $86.00 to$190.00 to the ton of 2,000 lbs.

harrison berry—4oo lineal feet.

The Harrison Berry lode, is aboutone hundred and twenty-five feetnorth of the Argentine. The lodebeing drifted upon, shows a fourfoot crevice, though both wallshavenot yet been obtained. There isabout four inches of ore in sight—-and as no assays of the ore havebeen made, we cannot with any cer-tainty speak of its value.

Gregory— 2oo lineal feet.

The Gregory lode lies, and isopened in a northwesterly directionfrom the Peep O’Day, about twohundred feet distant. But littledeveloped. Has a strong vein ofquartz and no mineral yet in view.


montezuma—666f lineal feet.

The Montezuma lode is near theP. IT. Rhodes lode. Has beenopened by a shaft ten feet deep,that shows a strong crevice ofquartz, apparently but a short dis-tance from mineral.

The Lorenzo 700 feet; Simpson700 feet; Croston 1400 feet, andEclipse 1400 feet lodes have hadbut little development, and as yetthere character and value cannotbe determined. Lying, as they do,among some of the richest mines,and in the true silver belt of Color-ado, there is a reasonable supposi-tion to presume that they willultimately be of value, and all ofthe above described tunnels, mines,mill site and water power are on

Leavenworth Mountain, GriffithMining district, Clear Creek county,Colorado territory.

From General F. J. Marshall,President of the Marshall Sil-ver Mining Go. of Georgetown,Colorado.

Georgetown, Col. Teritory,June 3, 18*70.

M. Anker, Esq-.—Dear Sir :

Yours of the 291h ult. duly received andcontents noted. In reply I must say, thatI am well informed in reference to the mineson Leavenworth mountain, as I am now en-gaged in driving a tunnel through it formining purposes.

The tunnels that you propose to workthrough this mountain, to wit, the Faughnand Rhodes arc well located and must neces-sarily cut all the lodes in the front and thelargestproportion of them at very great depthbelow the surface, thereby placing them inconditionfor a cheap and economical mining.

There is perhaps as many as fifty lodes dis-covered on Leavenworth Mountain whichyon will cut, in running through itfrom the points your tunnels ars located,a great number of which are evidently truefissures, and from the enormous richnessof the ores at or near the surface, we arecompelled to the conclusion that they are ofvery great value.

Among others that are held at a highestimate by this mining community andwhich will be cut by your tunnels are theTom Thumb, Argentine, George Larv,Great Eastern, Rocky Mountain, Wash-ington, Livermore, Gilpin and Heaton.Yon will also doubtless cut many valuableveins that have not been discovered on thesurface on which you will be able to pre-empt and hold, your full compliment offeet (say 1400 feet) by right of discovery.

When you cut lodes by means of a tun-nel, the surface owner cannot interfere withyou until they sink down to your lode anddrift with you. The great depth at whichyou will cut many of the lodes on thismountain, would require a very long timefor them to reach you, and when they haredone so, the great cheapness of workingminesthrough a tunnel over that of hoisting water,

rock aud orefrom great depths by steam pow-er, would enable you to derive a large revenue

from the owners of the minesfor theprivilegeof working their mines through your tunnel.

If you did not own a foot of property onthe surface, it would be a grand andprac-tical enterprise to work your tunnel throughthe mountain for the lodes you may discoverandfor the tribute which the surface ownerswould find to thetr interest to pay you forthe privelege of mining their veins throughyour tunnel. Very respectfully,

F. J. Marshall.

From D. 11. Mqffatt, CashierFirst National Bank, UnitedStates Depository , Denver,Colorado.First Nat. Bank, U. S. Depository,

Denver, Colorado, June 6, 18*70.Mr. M. Anker—Sir:

It affords me much pleasure to say that


I consider any statement made by Gen’lF. J. Marshall of Georgetown, Colorado,in reference to mining and the mines ofColorado, worthyof the most undoubted credit

Respectfully, &c.D. H. Moffat, Jr.,

Cash’r Ist Nat. Bank.

From Prof. Frank Dibben, Supt.

of the International MiningCo. of Colorado.

Georgetown, June 1, 1870.M. Anker, Esq. —Dear Sir :

la reply to your enquiries respecting theLeavenworth Mountain Silver property, Iwould state that the Argentine, TomThumb and Rocky Mountain lodes, werediscovered by a mutual prospecting com-pany consisting of six members, in 1865.

I worked the Argentine Lode to the depthof thirty feet, audfound the vein continuousand does not vary much in width from the

first indications which was one foot of solidmineral in thickness, and this solid mineralenclosed in second quality of orefrom threeto fourfeet in thickness. Six tons of Ihefirst quality ore I sold to the GeorgetownSmelting Works, which averaged seventydollars per ton, the amount realized fromthis ore was sufficient to pay all expenseincurred in opening and developing themines, leaving some twenty tons of secondclass ore now on hand at the mines. TheTom Thumb Lode is much richer but hasa narower pay streak than that of theArgentine, and has been opened by a shaftsome 15 feet in depth and the ore continuesto show the same richness, averaging inyield from actual working some $6OO. perton. The Rocky Mountain Lode is strongand well defined, and is developed abouttwenty feet in depth with a six foot crevice,varying much in quality. These veins withthe others controlled by you, together with thetunnel sites, I consider to offer one of themost favorable opportunities for profitableand extensive mining in the Territory.

Yours, &c.Frank Dibben.

Office of the German ReductionWorks, L. Huepeden & Co.

Georgetown, Col., June 1, ISi'O.M. Anker, Esq.—Dear Sir:

In rep’y to yours of May 31st, we wouldsay that we know thelocation ofthe RhodesTunnel on Leavenworth Mountain, Grif-fith District, here, pretty well. The Leaven-worth Mountain has furnished most of al!all the ores which we have treated in ourworksfor the last three years, and ive con-sider the same as one of the best mountainsasfar as richness of ore is concerned

, in thevicinity of Georgetown. The location ofyour tunnel site we consider as a very goodone, the mountain being very steep there,so that in striking lodes you will strikethem at a considerable depth, where with-out doubt, they will prove to be muchricher as near the surface. Of the differentlodes which your tunnel is to intersect, we

do not know any but the Argentine lode ;

the crevice of this lode is very wide, andthe richest ore is its galena ore. We onlyworked a small hatch of this lode, one tonsecond class ore, which did not containany galena, or very little, the galenabeingdressed out for the smelting process. Forthe details of this batch of ore we refer toenclosed duplicate certificate.

Yours, very respectfully,L. Huepeden & Co.

GermanReduction Works ofHuepeden & CoGeorgetown, Coe., January 18,1870.

This is tocertify that one ton ofore fromthe Argentine Lode, Griffith District,treatedby us for Mr. J. U. Rhodes, gavethe following results by fire assay, avergesample:—Silver43 oz., coin value per tonof 2,000 lbs., $55 90; per cent of assay saved80. The ore was second class ore , all of thegalena ore first class ore having been pickedout.

L. Huepeden& Co.Asssayedby H, Stoelting.

From Hon. Ghas. A. Cook, mem-ber of the Colorado TerritorialCouncil and laic Director ofthe First National. Dank, Den-ver, Colorado.

Denver, June 6. 1870.Moses Anker.—Dear Sir :

In reply to your communication, I would


inform you that Iam thoroughlyacquaint-ed with all the prominent Silver mines onLeavenworth Mountain, and Iconsider boththe “Tom Thumb” and Argentine Lodes asTWO VERY VALUABLE SILVBR MINES. Theore of the Argentine is not as rich as thatof the Tom Thumb, but the width of thecrevice and the great quantity of ore makesit fully as valuable. I do not know theexact location of your tunnels, but anytunnels well located cannot do otherwisethan strike your valuable lodes, but alsothose of the Equator, Gilpin and others,and mustconsequentlyprove ofimmense value.Taking into consideration the valuableproperty you now have.and the other lodesthat will be struck byyour tunnels, Icon-sider you control the most valuable miningproperty in Colorado.

Yours sincerely,Chas. A. Cook.

From John Turck, Esq., Direc-tor of Colorado Central Rail-road and one of the owners ofthe celebrated Equator Lode.

Georgetown, Col., Jue 4, 1870.M. Anker, Esq.—Dear Sir;

I am well acquainted with the “Argen-tine Lode’ ’ situated onLeavenworth Moun-tain, having examined it very frequent,and Iconsider it a valuable lode, being ofwide crevice and having one foot of solidore, AND in my opinion it is a true fissure

vein. Of the other lodes I know nothing.Yours,

John Turck.

From Hon. George T. Clark,Treasurer of Colorado Terri-tory and late Cashier of FirstNational Bank, Denver, Col.

Treasurer’s Office,Denver. June 6, 1870.

M. Anker, Esq.—Dear Sir:In reply to yours of the 3d, I will say

that I am well acquainted with all of the

mining Districts of Colorado, haring donebusiness in the most noted of them sincethe year 1861. On the discovery of thesilver deposits in and around Georgetown,I established a Banking House under thename and style of “Geo. T. Clark & Co.”at Georgetown, which business I disposedof June 1869, to the firm of J. B. Chaffee& Co. Being in this business brought mein contact with the miners—and all Com-panies engaged in mining for silver in thatDistrict, and from my knowledge of theDistrict and from conversation with themineralogists sent herefrom different partsof the world, I think I am safe in sayingthal no richer silver mining District exists(in the United States at least) than theGcorgetovmDistrict. As regards the Tom

Thumb and AgentineLodes, I willsay thatthey are considered by all who have exam-ined them, as first class mines, and whendeveloped as other mines have been, willprove equally as rich.

JSTo mountain about Georgetown has pro-duced richer mines than the LeavenworthMountain , and L consider it one of the best lo-cations for tunnels in that District. Yourtunnels are well located, and will no doubtcross many other rich veins besides those in-dicated in your list. With our Railroadcommunication, cheap freight, low priceprovisions and labor, there is no doubt ofthe future of silver mining in this terri-tory. I am, very respectfully,

Geo. T. Clark, Treas. Col. Ter.

From Geo. T. Marsh, Esq., Giv-il and Mining Engineer, andSupt. of the Morris Silver Min-ing Company.

Georgetown, Col., June 3, 1870.M. Anker, Esq. —Dear Sir:

After numerous surveys and repeatedexaminations of tunnels and mines in thisvicinity, I unhesitatingly say , that no min-ing enterprise ever presented such surety ofsuccess as that of driving tunnels into theLeavenworth Mountain. The veins are nu-

merous, massive and rich. The most pro-minent lodes are the “Equator,” “Tom


Thumb," “Argentine," “Creole," “Geo.Law,” “Peep-O-Day," “Rocky Mountain”and “Gilpin," each of which has a goodreputation among miners and scientificmen.

The accompanying maps and diagramsshow the peculiar advantages ofyour tun-nels. Yery truly, yours,

Geo. E. Marsh,Civil and Mining Engineer.

From Hon. Bela M. Hughes,late President of the DenverPacific Railway.

Denver, Col., June 6, 1870.M. Anker.—Dear Sir;

I am well acquainted with the characterof the “Tom Thum" and “Argentine"Lodes on Leavenworth Mountain, nearGeorgetown,as I am interested in the LinnTunnel near these lodes, and we expect tocut through them at some time not far dis-tant,and Ican state that in my opinion theselodes are surpassed by none in promise, inthe same mountain. I regard your interestin these two lodes as very valuable and arecertain topay handsomely , judiciously workedunder contract per foot.

You know my opinion of the proper,safe and economical way to work suchmines. I ought to say that your tunnelprivileges are of great importance and ulti-mate value.

Many of the mining enterprises havefailed by reason of the incapacity of themanagers, often through their dishonestpractices, and more frequently in conse-quence of their senseless and wicked ex-travagance. Let me hope you will profitby the wrecks all around you.

Your friend, &c.,B. M. Hughes.

From John Cree, Esq., Post-master of Georgetown, Col.

Georgetown, June 3, 1870.Mb. M. Anker.—Sir;

You ask me if I am acquainted with thelocation and general character of Leaven-

worth mountain, and the general characterof the ores ofsaid mountain,also ofthe char-acter of the Argentine Lode on said Moun-tain. I answer, I have been nearly all overthis mountain, and consider it well locatedand available for working the lodes, andcan with assurance say, it contains anabundance of rich ore. I have visited theArgentine Lode several times, it is a largevein of rich mineral ore, and I consider ita very good lode.

Yery truly,John Cree, Postmaster Georgetown.

From Ghas. 0. Baldwin , Esq. ,

Supt. of the West ArgentineMining Company of Colorado.

Georgetown, Col., June 1, 1870.M. Anker, Esq. —Dear Sir ;

In reply to your enquiries, I can statefrom personal knowledge, that lam wellacquainted with the “Argentine” and “TomThumb” lodes. The former is remarkable

for its sizeand quantityofits ore. The qualityof the ore is argentiferous galena, contain-ing a large per cent, of lead. From an as-say made by myself of the ore, Ifound it tocontain seventy-fiveper cent, of lead and 47ounces of silver. In my judgement it is oneof the best and largest veins in the country .

In the Tom Thumb lode, the sulphuretore predominates. Some of the richest oremined in this country, has been taken fromthis lode. The Rhodes tunnel will strikethe above mentioned lodes and many othersof the same belt, along the line of the tun-nel. Yery truly,

Chas. 0. Baldwin,Supt. West Argentine Mining Co.

From Hon. Frank Hall, ActingGovernor of Colorado.

Territory op Col., Secretary's Office,Denver, June 7, 1870.

I am familiar ‘with the reputation of theTom Thumb and Argentine silver bearingveins, located in Leavenworth Mountain,near Georgetown, Clear Creek county, inthis Territory. They are well defined veins


of ordinary strength, containing ores,which so far as tested, have 'proven to he ofgreat value in silver.

Yery Respectfully,Frank Hall, Sec. of State.

From F. A. Pope, Esq., Attor-ney at Law, Georgetown, Col.

Georgetown, Col., May 20, 1870.M. Anker, Esq.—Dear Sir:

In response to your enquiries relating tocertain property on Leavenworth Moun-tain, I will state that some of the lodesyou mention I have visited, among thenumber the Tom Thumb and Argentine, bothof which Iregard as among themost valuable

properties in this District. The Tom Thumbis a well defined crevice, carrying a good veinof rich ore. The ore in the Argentine lodeis not so rich, hut there is such an immensebody of it that the lode is hound to he one ofgreat value. I know the Rhodes, the Oros-ton and the Faughn tunnel sites; the lastnamed tunnel being in some forty feet.

I think the location is the best onefor atunnel site that I know of in this District,in respect to the number and richness ofthe lodes it will cut, the short distance andgreat depthat which it will cut them, andthe convenience of the tunnel to all thingsnecessary in its construction—there beinga good wagon road passing by it, abun-dance of wood close athand, and a magni-ficent water power connected with it.

In haste, I am very truly yours,F. A. Pope.

From Prof. 11. H. Hewitt, awell known Colorado Miner

Georgetown, C. T., June T. 18T0.M. Anker, Esq;—

Concerning the “Argentine” and “TomThumb” lodes, situated on LeavenworthMountain in Griffith Mining District, ClearCounty, Colorado Territory, I will say,that I have been acquainted with the lodesby reputation since their first discovery,and about one year since visited and exam-

ined them personally. The Argentine lodeis a massive vein carrying nearly afoot of ar-gentiferous galena, and is from four to six,feet in width between the ivall rocks enclosingthe vein. lam not informed as to the as-say value of the ore. hut from my knowl-edge ofores, would pronounce it a first classlode. The Tom Thumb lode situated onthe same mountain, does not carry overone-half the quantity of ore that the Ar-gentine does, but the ore is very rich, havingrun as high as $4BO. per ton, coin valuein a mill. The character of the ore is sul-phuret of silver and intermixed with brit-tle silver. Both lodes are favorably situatedfor working by means of a cross cut tun-nel. From an experience of ten years inmining I do not hesitate to pronounce bothlodes first class mining property.

I could not give exact data without mak-ing a more minute examination of themines.

Most respectfully,H. H. Hewitt.

From F. J. Wood, Deptuty Post-master, Georgetown, Col.Georgetown, Col., February IT, 18T0.

Dear Sir :Your favor of sth inst. at hand. You

ask about the Tom Thumb mine, and inreply I would say, that I have worked onsaid mine from tip down to its presentdepth, have also taken out ore, and knowwffiat it is worth in this market. The mineis situated on the south side of Leaven-■worth Mountain, near the Equator mine,and in one of the very best belts of silverin this country. Said mine is easyof accessat any time of the year. It can be workedvery economically by tunnel (as the moun-tain is very abrupt at this point,) or byshaft. The vein is fully five feet wide,with a nice crevice of ore almost from thegrass roots down. The shaft is aboutthirty feet deep with a good solid footwall,showing that it is a large true vein. Theore that was taken out last summer fromthe surface, and worked by Prof. Hill ofBlack Hawk,rnn 590 ozs. per ton of 2,000lbs., which stamps it at once as one of the


very best mines in this country; in fact,after a residence of almost eleven years inthe mining districts of this Territory, andthe larger part of that time actively en-gaged in mining, I have failed to see amine with the same amount of develop-ment, that looks better than the “TomThumb” mine.

Yours very truly and Respectfully,FRANK J. WOOD,

Depty. Post Master, Georgetown, Cal.

From two well known experiencedColorado Miners.

Georgetown, Col. Ter.June 3, ISIO.

M. Anker, Esq.—Dear Sir:At your request we have examined Lea-

venworth Mountain and the lodes andtunnel situated thereon, and in our judg-ment wr e consider it one of the first moun-

tains in this Distinct or in Clear Creek Co.We find on this mountain the celebratedEquator, considered the best of any de-veloped mine in the District, also theSquaw, Compass, Broadway, Ni-Wot,Bull-Dog, Empire, Tom Thumb, Gayoso,Argentine, Creole, Hunsell, Rocky Moun-

tain, Peep-O-Day, McClellan, Heaton andvarious others too numerous to mention,nearly all ofwhich are in process of activedevelopment. We find them all so situ-ated, that they can be easily worked bymeans of tunnels crossing them at rightangles. We find the Marshall Tunnell

driven in some six hundred feet, cros-sing several lodes, also the Linn Tunnel,the Faughn Tunnel, the Croston Tunneland the Rhodes Tunnel, so situated as tostrike the best belt of lodes on the moun-tain. We also consider tunneling to bethe only true mode of developing and work-ing silver mines in this section of thecountry.

Respectfully submitted,T. F. SIMMONS.A. C. EDWARDS.

From Wm. N. Byers, Esq.,General Manager of the Nat-ional Land Company for Col-orado, and Editor of the RocTcyMountain News, Denver, Col.Office op the National Land Co.

Denver, Col., June 7, 18T0.M. Anker, Esq.—Dear Sir:

In answer to your inquiry about therichness of silver mines upon and aroundLeavenworth Mountain, near Georgetown,Colorado, I can only give an opinion ingeneral terms. The vicinity named hasthe general reputation of being one of therichest in Colorado. Some of the mostcelebrated of our wonderful rich silvermines are upon Leavenworth Mountain,and more attention has been directed totunneling in that one than in any otherof the many rich mountains surroundingGeorgetown. Hoping youwill be success-ful in your very promising mining enter-prise there, I am,

Yery truly yours,WM. N. BYERS.

From Wm. 11. Cushman, Esq.,Manager of Banking House ofJ. B. Chaffee & Go., George-town, Col.

J. B. Chaffee & Co., Bankers,Georgetown, Col., June 3, 18t0.

M. Anker, Esq.—Sir :

The Equator, Compass and Square, Gil-pin county, Argentine, Tom Thumb,Indigo, Winnebagoand many other Lodessupposed to be among the most desirableof any of our rich silver lodes, are situatedon Leavenworth Mountain, in GriffithMining District, Clear Creek Co , Colorado.

Leavenworth Mountain has been and isnow considered by our miners as the mostdesirable on which to locate a tunnel site,and a number of tunnels are now beingdriven to strike the above mentioned lodes.The Marshall Silver Mining Company’sTunnel having now reached a distance ofsome six hundred feet, and is being pushedforward with energy. Respectfully Yours,

WM. 11. CUSHMAN, Manager,Banking House of J. B. Chaffee & Co.


From P. S. Bailey, Esq., aprominent citizen of George-town, Colorado.

Georgetown, Cor., June 2, 1870.M. Anker, Esq.—Sir:

I have examined several silver bearingveins on Leavenworth Mountain, amongthem are the Troy, Tom Thumb, Argen-tine, Creole, Montezuma, Rocky moun-tain and Peep-O-Day, and am satisfiedthey are good lodes, the crevice betweenwalls averaging from three to five feet.

Leavenworth Mountain is the best pro-ducing mountain in this District, havingmany other lodes being mined that yield a

profit to their owners.Also the Faughn, Croston and Rhodes

tunnels are located at the base of themountain, which will cut the above namedlodes at a depth of from one hundred tofive hundred feet. Respectfully Yours,

P. S. BAILEY

From George E. Marsh, MiningEngineer.

Georgetown, Cor., Juno 4, 1870M. Anker, Esq.—Dear Sir :

In response to your inquiry concerningthe "Livermore,” "Montezuma,” "P. H.Rhodes,” "Troy” and "Brazilian”Lodes on Leavenworth Mountain, I willreply as follows :

The "Livermore” is opened by a drifton the lode about fifteen feet in length,awd shows an extraordinary vein , with con-siderable mineral scattered through it.

The "Montezuma” has a shaft sunk toa depth of ten feet; the walls are not de-fined and no ore is visible, yet the indica-tions are favorable for a strong vein.

The “P. H. Rhodes” shows some min-eral, and the surface work shows fair assaysofsilver.

The "Troy” exhibits a fine streak ofore in a shaft about eight feet deep.

The "Brazillian ” is opened at the creekand presents a crevice three feet in width,but its situation at present prevents itsbeing worked at a profit. Yours truly,

GEORGE E. MARSH.Civil and Mining Engineer,

From Geo. H. Barrett, Esq.,vjho is now driving the tunnelfor the Helmich Tunnel Co., ofWashington, D. C.

Georgetown, Cor., June 2, 1870.M. Anker, Esq.—Dear Sir:

In reply to your inquiries about Leaven-worth Mountain and the lodes thereon, Iwould say that I am personally acquaintedwith the most of them. Leavenworthmountain is located in the heart of the sil-ver mines of this section, and has producedas much, if not more silver than any othermountain. The veins are large and welldefined, and the mineral is generally highgrade. Could these lodes be worked by atunnel driven from the base of the moun-tain where there is plenty of water for millpurposes, they ought to pay handsomeprofits, as the ore could be delivered at themouth of the. tunnelat much less cost thanit could be raised through a shaft to thesurface. Mines that would run behind bysinking shafts would pay largely whenworked by tunnels.

Very truly yours,GEORGE 11. BARRETT.

From Mr. Wm. 11. Nichols anexperienced miner and Brother ofJno. A. Nichols, Esq., Presidentof the Besolute Insurance Com-pany, Baltimore, Md.

Georgetown, Cororado.M. Anker, Esq.—Dear Sir :

In answer to your inquiry in regard tolodes situated on Leavenworth Mountain,I would say—l have visited and am ac-quainted with those mentioned by you ;

my attention was particularly drawn tothe Rocky Mountain , Tom Thumb, Argentine ,

and George Law Lodes.1 believe them to be the best lodes of that

section on Leavenworth Mountain, and whenmorefully developed will not he excelled byany on the mountain.

The Faughn, Croston and Rhodes tunnels

are particularly located for the further de-velopment of mines. The wr ater-pow


near the Rhodes tunnel, will in my opinionbe of great advantage to any companyworking the above property.

Respectfully,WM. H. NICHOLS.

From the Editor of the ColoradoMiner.

Philadelphia, March 28, 1870.Dear Sir:

Learning that you are endeavoring tointerest capital for the purpose of develo-ping the “Tom Thumb” lode, situated onLeavenworth Mountain, near Georgetown,Colorado, induces me to say that from thedevelopments already made I believe it tobe fully as valuable as any mine in thatvicinity. The ore produced by the mineis a rich sulphuret, and I know it has paidlarge profits, sufficient to warrant me insaying that they would be largely increasedwhen the mine is opened so as to produceore in large quantities.

Fully believing that the property youare offering is first-class, I have no hesitancyin given your project my hearty endorse-ment.

Yours truly,A. W. BARNARD.

From Hon. S. F. Nuclcolls, Del-egate to Congress from Wyo-ming Territory.

Washington, D. C., June 16, 18*70.M. Anker, Esq. —Dear Sir :

In reply to your inquiries, I will statethat I have resided at Georgetown, Colo-rado, and believe I am pretty well acquaint-ed with the region.

The silver mines in Griffith District arein my opinion the richest discovered onour continent Those on LeavenworthMountain are believed to be as rich as anyaround Georgetown. Leavenworth Moun-tain is excellently situated for tunneling.A tunnel favorably located upon it, cannot fail to cut rich lodes. The Argentine

lode has a good reputation. The prospectsfor rich returns from the mines at George-were never so promising as now.

Your Obedient Servant,S. F. NUCKOLLS.

From Judge C. 77. Morgan.Georgetown, Col., Feb. 10, 1870.

Dear Sir: —

You ask my opinion of the Tom Thumblode. The best evidence of the value of alode comes from the Miners, unless by per-sonal working and manipulating the ores.I have never been at the lode, but haveseen a great amount of ore from it; andtaken together I have not seen a like quan-tity from any lode equalit in richness, andgood miners who have worked on it, in-form me they would rather hare it thanthe Equator lode. It certainly has the rep-utation among the miners, second to nolode so far as developed, but beyond thatand the character of the ore, I cannot say.

Respectfully yours,C. H. Morgan.

From Genl. W. H. Lessig, Sur-veyor General of Colorado.

Surveyor General’s Office,Denver, C. T., June 10, 1870.

M. Anker.—Dear Sir :

In reply to your enquiries, I would state,that I am acquainted with some of thesilver mines in Leavenworth mountain,Clear Creek County, this Territory, andknow them to be among the most valuableof any in the Territory, and any tunnelstriking those lodes, cannot be other thana most profitable enterprise.

Yours truly,W. H. LESSIG,

Surveyor General of Colorado.

CARD.To continue the developments of

the “Anker Tunnels and SilverMine,” a moderate amount of capi-


tal is required, and for the purposeof the immediate enlistment of therequired capital, extraordinary in-ducements are offered. Circularscontaining full particulars, togetherwith references, can be obtaineduntil August Ist, 1870, from me, atBarnum’s Hotel, Baltimore, Md.,or if desired, will be mailed to anyaddress. To parties desiring theoriginal of all letters published inreference to the mines, will he shownwith pleasure, by me.

M. ANKER.

[From the Marshall Silver Mining Company’sprospectus .1

“Immediately above the Compassand Square lode is a group of lodesrunning in close proximity to eachother and known by surface devel-opments to be large, strong veins,and of immense richness; the “TomThumb" belongs to this group andhas produced ore which yieldedfrom

five hundred to one thousand dollarsper ton coin value , and select speci-mens assay even two thousanddollarsper ton. The Indigo lode, belong-ing to this same group, produces ar-gentiferous galena, which yields byassay, one dollar per pound. TheArgentine lode, belonging to thisgroup, has, perhaps, the strongestpaying vein that has ever been dis-covered in this country. The payvein in this lode, ranging seven tonine feet in thickness and of rich-ness from forty to sixty dollars perton, which can be dressed or con-centrated so as to make it yield fromtwo to three hundred dollars perton, and regarded by experiencedminers to be of very great value,

perhaps not inferior toany discoveryin the country. Richness of theores as shown by assays and treat-ment of a portion of the lodes inLeavenworth Mountain, is as fol-lows, to wit:

Assay of the Tom Thumb lode ofselect ore, $l,OOO.

Assay of the Indigo lode of selectore, $2,000 per ton.

Assay of the Argentine lode, $5Oper ton. The average width of thisvein is seven feet.

Assay of the Rocky Mountainlode, $l5O per ton.

It is not expected that these enor-mous results will be obtained fromthese ores under ordinary treatmentor reduction. It is estimated bywell informed metallurgists that theores from the various mines on Lea-venworth Mountain will yield, onan average under treatment, of atleast one hundred and fifty dollarsper ton, while the avez-age of thegreat Comstock, of Nevada, is onlytwenty-eight and a half dollars perton. The Equator lode onLeaven-worth Mountain, first-class ore, byactual treatment in the reductionworks at Newark, N. L, yieldedabout $5OO per ton; second qualityfrom this vein, ti’eated at George-town, C. T., by amalgamation, about$2OO per ton.

The estimates are all based oncoin values.

Note.— The Marshall Silver MiningCompany own no interest in any of theabove mentioned mines except the Squareand Comp iss.

Vice President’s Chamber,Washington, Jan. 14, 1870.

Dear Sir :—I have only time


amid multiplied duties, to reply,that all our party learned in regardto the Silver Mines at Georgetown,Colorado, in our brief visit there in1868, can be found in Bowles’“Switzerland of America,” publish-ed by S. Bowles & Co., Springfield,Massachusetts, of whom I supposeit can yet be obtained.

In great haste,Respectfully, yours,

Schuyler Colfax.

Mr. Samuel Bowles, Editor of theSpringfield (Mass.) Republican, in aletter to Hon. Schuyler Colfax, says;“Of the wealth of the regions wr evisited in gold and silver ore no

adequate conception can be formedor expressed, the mind standsamazed before its revelations, hutit does not lie around loose on thesurface of the ground and is not tobe exploited in brokers’ offices inWall street and ‘The City. Patientand intelligent labor, in fields wellchosen for their nearness to marketand supplies, with capital, skill andintegrity, are the inevitable laws ofgreat success in mining. The firstneed of our mining is the Pacificrailroad; this gained and no interestis likely to make more valuable re-

turns for well invested capital andlabor,’ and in his well known work,‘Across the Continent,’ page 33, hesays, ‘This whole vast range ofmountains (The Rocky) that dividesour continent, seems indeed crowdedwith veins of rich mineral ore, theyrun into and through the hill sidesas the bars of a gridiron, every hun-dred feet; every fifty feet, everytwenty feet, there is no end to them

in number, there is no apparent limitto their depth, one hundredfeet, threehundred feet, and four hundredfeethave the miners sunk shafts, and didwe descend, hut the veins of ore holdtheir course and their richness undi-minished, oftenest enlarged: the chief-est development ofthese mines in thisTerritory ( Colorado) lies along andup the Clear Creek and centresaround its sources some forty milesup and in the mountains west ofDenver .”

In his “Switzerland of America,”he says: “There are great tunnelingschemes proposed and started atGeorgetown silver district by whichthe various veins are to be cut deepdown in their depths and the wealthbrought out of a single mouth in avalley at a much cheaper rate thanhy digging down from the top andhauling up, and successful miningon a grand scale will soon take thisform, not only here, but in'Hevada,and, indeed, in most of our miningStates. There is apparently nolimit in fact to the growth of themineral interests of Colorado. Theproduct this year is from two to twoand a half millions; next year itwill be at least a millionmore, per-haps one, one and a half or two mil-lions, and the increase will go onindefinitely. For the business is noiv

taken hold of in the right way, andevery year must see improvementsin the ways and means of miningand treating the ores. Inexhausti-ble is Colorado’s mineral wealth.Hence, my faith in its prosperityand its influence among the CentralStates of the continent.


[From the Mining Journal, Jan. 23, 1869.]

“There has been no time sinceColorado was first discovered thatits mines have paid so well as atpresent. At Georgetown, the cen-tre of silver mining operations, lo-cated at a point that four years agowas a wilderness, there are now fivereducing works now erected of verylimited capacity. Messrs. Schirmer& Bruckner, proprietors of the prin-cipal reducing works, took off onSaturday, 164 pounds troy of silverbullion, coin value $2,646.80 (fromseven tons of ore) Messrs. Hupeden,Walters & Co., have just taken fromretort and shipped to New York$4,454.65 in silver bullion from 217tons of ore. Porfi Stewart produced2,615 ozs of silver bullion in hissmall way of working by a threestamp mill during the month of No-vember. If suchresults could be ob-tainedfrom the Comstock Lode, Ne-vada, millions of capital would beeager to invest; but being in Colo-rado, where millions have been ex-

pended by inexperienced people inmining and worthless processes,capitalists have not the temerity toinvest.

Bishop Simpson—thewell-knownbishop travelled through Colorado,and the following extract from hisletter is taken from the ChristianAdvocate:

“The people who emigrated therewere generally poor—to carry onlode mining requires capital—a

man or Company with $50,000 wouldhe almost certain of realizing im-menseprofitsA

Extract from a letter written byProf. E. N. Kent, of the New YorkAssay Office;

“During my' stay in Colorado, Imade several assays of mill pro-ducts—the results of which appearedto he almost incredible. I havetherefore repeated the assays sincemy return, upon twenty-five differ-ent samples, which I brought homewith me— these assays have corobor-ated those made before. As to theextent of the mines of Colorado, Iam not prepared to give an estimate,but as to therichness of them, Ihaveno hesitation in saying that I believethem to be the richest ever discovered.With science, capital and a PacificRailroad, Colorado is destined inmy opinion to rival or supercedeCalifornia and Australia, and be-come the El Dorado of the West."

From the speech of the Hon. H.P. Bennett, member of Congress,delivered in the U. S. House ofRepresentatives, Washington :

“All things considered, there canbe no safer investment than in thestocks of the bullion banks of Color-ado. The vaults of these banks arefilled with an inexhaustible trea-sure, placed on deposit there by theAlmighty hand, and made subjectto the draft of man. These banksare always specie paying, and theirvaults are numerous, long, wideand deep. There is no risk in thisbusiness. The capitalist is but fol-lowing in a beaten path. The ex-periment has been made by thosewho have gone before, and theirsuccess is inviting him to follow


quickly. Ten, twenty, fifty, a hun-dred, five hundred million dollarsmay find ready and very profitableinvestment, without any possibilityof failure, if he will but exercisethe most ordinary precaution.”

Bayard Taylor says: “one theoryis certain, the mines of Colorado areamong the richest in the world, Idoubt whether either California orNevada contains a greater amountof the precious metal than this sec-tionof the Rocky Mountains. Thesepeaks, packed as they are with deeprich veins, seamed and striped withthe outcropping of their hiddenwealth, axe not yet half explored,and if properly worked, will yield ahundred millions a year for a thou-sand years ! Colorado alone oughtto furnish the amount of the na-tional debt within the next century,all that is needed is invention,intelligence and properly organizedenterprize.

From the silver mines of Color-ado, Albert Eeideneker, of thePolytechnic School, of the kingdomof Wurtemberg, made seventy-sixassays, with the average result of$121.64 to the ton of 2000 lbs., anddeposed that said ores taken forassay were only a fair average ofthe ore from the mines from whichthey were respectively taken, andthat they came from a depth notexceeding twenty feet, and in mostcases from within five feet of thesurface.

From thirty assays made by F.Eckfeldt, melter and refiner at theXL S. Branch Mint Denver, anaverage assay was obtained of$130.28 to the ton of 2000 lbs. hedeposing that the ores so assayedwere but a fair average from themines from which they were taken.

From the report of the U. S.GeologicalSurvey of Colorado, 1869,we quote:

“There is an important questionwhich suggests itself to one attempt-ing to study the mines of Colorado,and that is the cause of the wonder-ful parallelism of the lodes, thegreater portion of them taking onegeneral direction or strike, north-east and southwest. We must atonce regard the course as deep-seated and general, for we find thatmost of the veins or lodes are truefissures, and do not diminish inrichness as they are sunk deeperinto the earth. All the lodes havemore or less clearly-defined walls,and some of them are quite remark-able for their smoothness and regu-larity.

I would simply remark that myobservations indicate to me that thesilver mines of Georgetown are veryrich and practically inexhaustible,and that under the present systemof working them they are becomingdaily more and more important.The amount of labor that is con-tinually expended in opening minesand driving tunnels is immense,and their future importance as asource of wealth to the countrygreatly increased. *


There are some remarkably richlodes, which have yielded the en-terprising miners untold wealth,and some that will continue to doso. In the majority of cases, whereproper management and economyhave been employed, the mineshave been a great source of wealthto the miner. It is not necessaryto enter into the causes of thewonderful failures and swindlingoperations which have broughtColorado into such disrepute in thepast. It is sufficient for me to statemy belief that the mining districtsof Colorado will yet he regarded as

the richest the world has ever known.

The French Commissioner, Pro-fessor Simonin, stated “after an

examination of the Silver mines ofColorado, that the geological char-acteristics of their formation gaveindubitable evidences of greatAvealth; that the ores were true Sil-ver ores, and that the mines werealmost identical with those of Mex-ico, of which they were a continua-tion.”

Cambridge, Mass.,January 17, 1870.

Deae Sir;—Mr. Agassiz begsme to acknowledge your faver ofthe 12th, and to say that he is pre-vented by illness from answering ithimself. He desires to add that hehas visited Colorado for scientificpurposes, and has seen the richnessof its resources.

Very respectfully, yours,E. 0. Agassiz.

[From the Rocky Mountain Herald. ]“The products of our mines, as

known by statistics, gives a gratify-ing exhibit of the progress of thisbranch of our industry. The amountof bullion produced during 1869 ismore than double the product of1868; and although only about one-fifth of the product of the minespasses through the mint, the de-posits in the Branch Mint at Denvershows an amount of $1,193,432.03for 1860 against $565,506.56 for1868.

[From the Colorado Miner.']We have a magnificent .specimen

from the Creole Lode. This speci-men, obtained from near the sur-face, contains galena, green andblue carbonate of copper, and, wethink, grey copper, although thedecomposed nature of the materialwould not allow that point to bedetermined with certainty. The“Creole” is situated in LeavenworthMountain, between the Argentineand Troy lodes, and has a shafttwenty feet in depth. The creviceof the lode is over six feet in width,and in thebottom of the shaft thereis a mineral vein of about eightinches in thickness, of ore verysimilar to that on the surface assay-ing from $5OO to $l,lOO per ton.We understand that the owners ofthis lode purpose to continue theworking of the same. The propertyis in a section noted for the rich-ness of the ores contained in thelodes, and we believe that develop-ment will prove the “Creole,” to besecond to no vein in the districtwherein it is located.

A Hurry-graph of Colorado and its /Silver Mines. 41

Extract from address before theColorado Agricultural Society, byHon. Bela M. Hughes.

Our mines, so long the subjectof wild speculation and experiment,have at last an assured value, andour minsi’s, so long the foot-ball offortune, the victims of patent pro-cesses and plausible schemes, havereached a satisfactory, profitableandenduring basis. * * * * *

After drifting about so long inthe sea of doubt, the haven of se-curity in full view, our people, likemariners just escaped from an oceantempest renew their strength, andmove on to that rich reward so welldeserved by their indomitablecourage in adversity, their patientwaiting of events, and unyieldingconfidence in the value of theirproperty. The stubborn ores, atthe command of science, at last giveup the precious metals held by them,and is now beyond all doubt a fact,to be disputed no more than thelight of the sun,that our mountainsmay challenge all the world, asthey did lately, and triumphantlyat Paris, for a comparison of ores.

These ores of gold and silver inour mountains we all do know tobe inexhaustible, whiletheiraveragevalue far exceeds that of any bodyof mines in any other country; themethods by which they are now re-duced being certain as to profitableresults, of comparatively cheap con-struction and operation, and withinthe reach of all who possess goodlodes.

A change, however, taking isplace in our system. The time hascome at last when the mining forores, and their reduction, are pro-

claimed properly to be separatebranches of industry. We witnessnow the erection of mills devoted tothe new order of things, to the pur-chase of ores at the shaft and thetunnel, for the account of their en-terprising and skilful proprietors.From this division of labor and care,we may augur greater attention todetails, and stricter economy in ex-penditures; indeed, the grandest con-

sequences to that hardy meritoriousclass of our citizens, who, armedwith pick and shovel, have compel-led the reluctant mountains to sur-render their richest treasures to theresistless miner.

While many of our lodes of goldand silver, by fire assay, yield anamount per ton fairly astounding,a careful examination of the experi-ments on the great body of theseores, demonstrates that they willyield, under the reduction process,not less than one hundred and fiftydollars per ton. When it is con-sidered that this class of ores, arereally boundless in extent, who canbe bold enough to question theenormous wealth of Colorado, tocast a doubt upon her future, orcalculate the mighty results to flowto our people from well directedskill and persistent labors?

[From the New York Tribune.']“At the Paris Exposition where

the glittering ore wealth from therichest and deepest mines in theworld was on exhibition, Colorado,in presence of princes, savans andstatesmen, was awarded the gi’andmedal for being the richest mineralcountry on earth.”


Is Mining Profitable in Colorado?This query is best answered by

the following statement of facts :

The Black Hawk Company run-

ning 800 lb. stamps, crushed 10,000tons of rock from the Gregorymine during the year, producing$275,000; of this $165,000 went topay expenses, leaving $90,000profit; the extra expense incurredon account of bad drainage was$27,000.50.

The Sensenderfer Company tookout in eighteen months, bullion tothe value of $155,000, of which$llO,OOO has been paid to the stock-holders in dividends, showing theexpense to have been $45,000 lessthan 30 per cent, of the gross yield.

The Smith & Parmalee Company,in ten months, yielded $76,000,but we have no estimate of theirexpenses during that period.

The Wilson & Cass Mining Com-pany near Georgetown, commencedpaying a monthly dividend of twoper cent, coin in January Ist, 1870.

The Schneider Mining Companyof Trenton, N. J., have been paying

since their organization an annualdividend of thirty-six per cent, incoin.

The Equator Mining Company—-located on Leavenworth Mountain,have been paying an annual divi-dend of one hundred per cent. Thenet yield of their mine in the pastseven months was $77,000.

The Brown Mining Companypaida dividend of 12 per cent, coin thefirst year of their organization, andtwenty-four per cent, in coin thesecond year.

The Terrible mine yielded $300,-000 in two years. We have no esti-mate of the expenses, but it willsuffice to know it is a paying minewhen the sum of $500,000 in coinwas paid for 650 lineal feet on thelode by British capitalists writhinthe past three months.

The President of the MarshallMining Company informs the writer,that when their company wasorganized, their stock wr as sold at$42.50 per share, par value $lOO.OO,and subsequently sold at par, andthat now there is no stock of thatcompanyfor sale.


The Wilson & Cass Reduction Company, at Georgetown, Colorado,

pay the following prices for Silver Ores, for Sulphuret Ores, where

zinc blend predominates:For ore assaying 40 silver 110“ “ “ 53 “ ft. 15 Cl i

6.) “ 35“ “ “ GO to 300 silver, 40 less than assay.

Ores of higher value subject to private contract. Galena Ores carry

ing not less than 15 per cent. Galena :

v yFor ores assaying 40 Ibs. silver$15.00“ “ “ 50 “ “ 22.5!)“ “ “ 03 •• “ 33.00“ “ “ 60to 230 “ “ 30.00 less than. assay.“ “ “210 to 330 “ “ 25.00 “

“ “ “310 to 400 “ “ 20.00 “

a hurry-graph of colorado and its silver mines · 106,475 square miles, almost as large as the...

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