USA > Colorado > History of the State of Colorado, Volume III > Part 45
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These conclusions, uttered ten years ago, based upon the somewhat superficial de- velopments of that time undoubtedly were correct, but the conditions then described have undergone many changes through later exploitations, other problems have been met and definitely solved. Other eminent geologists have been penetrating the depths, and in quarters that in 1880 had not even been examined below the surface, and these men have been compiling further testimony from the rocks, drawing maps and charts of their disclosures, forming new theories and adding to the general stock of knowledge for the benefit of all engaged in scientific pursuits, for it is science and not a horde of unlettered, blindly groping prospectors that is now developing the secrets of nature in Leadville, and the light shed upon them by one is open to all for mutual advantage. It has been ascertained that the ores for the most part lie in well defined chutes or veins ; that the porphyry and lime contact and the limestone near it are not the only ore bearing planes. Masses of valuable mineral are found at various points in the limestone itself, and it is discovered that "the whole of the blue limestone is the true ore bearing zone ;" that the ore chutes are subject to frequent changes of position from the vertical, " first lying in the porphyry-lime contact, then passing down into the lime ; then lying between the limestone and the parting quartzite, and again passing through that." "So far, there have been discovered * and opened, no less than fifteen distinct ore chutes ; some of them have been, and are richer than others ; some have been better developed and more thoroughly explored, but all have been productive. Except where the geological formation has been broken by faults, at which the ore chutes outcrop, the end of no one of them has been found, with the exception, however, of the north and south Iowa chutes, which apparently end abruptly, but in all probability will be found to extend at a lower plane."
Local authorities are in agreement, that the productive area of Leadville, as defined by prospecting and mining, is twenty-five to thirty square miles, only a small part having been developed. In several mines large masses of low grade ore remain standing which, when the cost of extraction, transportation and treatment shall have been reduced, and higher prices obtained for their silver contents, will be profitably utilized. Immense bodies of valuable ore are exposed in the most extensively operated properties, and they are yielding large returns to the owners. We shall take occasion to illustrate these facts in the further course of our narrative.
The old mines of 1879-'80, whereon much of the renown of the district rested, have been almost entirely worked out, and no longer occupy conspicuous places in the reports. But they did not constitute the major values of the region. They were simply the first and greatest of their time, since when overshadowing rivals have appeared. The work has been cheapened year by year under the employment of improved machinery, the acquisition of knowledge by experience, the reduction of smelting and transportation charges through active competition. At present writing the output of
* Mining Editor "Herald-Democrat."
431
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
marketable ores is 1,500 to 1,700 tons daily, exceeding all precedent. Much of the increase is due to the advanced prices of silver and lead, and the better promises of the future. Yet some of the greater operators are not extracting from their reserves, mark- eting only the product broken in the regular course of development. If all were crowded to their fullest capacity, as were the old mines of Fryer Hill in 1879-'80-'81, to meet clamorous demands for immediate dividends, the amount could easily be doubled.
There is remarkable concurrence of opinion by the well informed, as to the extent and durability of the ore deposits. It is not claimed that they are without limit, but it is entirely just to concede that the district contains very great bodies of mineral, that will not be exhausted during the life of the present generation, and may endure for a century, since it is only reasonable to assume that many parts of the hills upon the ore bearing zones, yet unexplored, contain vast treasure. This assumption is sustained by the fact that many claims, long supposed to be barren, have recently developed splendid results, both by individual prospecting, and by the extended exploitation of adjoining territory. Such occurrences have been so frequent during the past five years, confidence has been thereby strengthened, and millions added to general results.
As to the amount of wealth these mines have contributed to the arteries of commerce, we are impelled to adopt the table following, prepared by a committee of expert statisticians appointed in the spring of 1890, to collate reliable data for pre- sentation to Congress, with the view of inducing that body to grant an appropriation for a public building in Leadville, and is by far the most acceptable that has been published.
Year.
Lead Tons.
Silver Ounces.
Gold Ounces.
Total Value.
1879.
17,650
6,004,416
1,100
$10,333.740.69
1880.
33,55I
8,993 399
1,688
15,095, 153.00
188I.
38, 10I
7,162,909
13,182
13,170,576.00
1882.
43,024
7,273,249
16,413
17,131,853.00
1893.
66,385
9,590,172
37,30I
15,839,446 00
188.4.
58,383
7,078,95I
22,626
12,837,497.00
1835.
30,100
8,314,593
36,752
12,357,662.00
1886.
48,488
5,166,145
36,546
13,750,733.30
1887.
35,417
7,148,968
23,405
12,072,967.8I
1888.
28,609
7,895,275
21,975
11,605,205.48
1889.
37,018
8,596,034
17,103
13,639,351.75
442,726
86,224, III
228,091
$147.834, 186.03
To enumerate and describe all of the productive mines would extend this chapter far beyond its design. The great representative properties of the current epoch, are those of the Iron-Silver Mining Company-reviewed at some length in Chapter XX, Vol. II-the Henriett & Maid of Erin Combination, and the A. Y. and Minnie group, which in general characteristics represent the whole, but lead all the rest in the extent of underground development, in the tonnage raised, and reserves blocked out, hence some account of the two last named will be given.
The company of which Mr. D. H. Moffat is president, and in which the Jerome B. Chaffee estate (represented by Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, Jr.) Horace A. W. Tabor, Hon. James G. Blaine, J. J. B. and B. H. Dubois are large stockholders, has acquired by purchase and lease the control of a material portion of Carbonate Hill. It has under
432
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
operation the Morning Star, Big Chief, Adams, Henriett and Maid of Erin, the Castle View and Waterloo claims; Eben Smith, general manager; Bela S. Buell, assistant, and James J. Brown, superintendent of the working forces. The machinery plant on the Maid from which most of the others are operated, is perhaps the most elaborate and complete of any in the Rocky Mountains, embracing not only the requisite engines, hoisters and pumps, but extensive machine shops as well, for the repair of all iron work about the premises, replacing damaged parts, constructing much new work, etc .; saw- mills also for the rapid shaping of the forest of timber used as supports in the various shafts, drifts and winzes. The pumps located in the "sumps" or water reservoirs at the lower levels, discharge at the surface about 800 gallons a minute.
During the calendar year 1889, this company produced 70,000 tons of ore.
Silver contents of ore marketed.
250,000 OZS.
Commercial value of the silver
$323,225
Copper, 50 tons at $13 per 100.
13,000
Lead, 20,000 tons at an average of 4 cts.
1,600,000
Total.
$1,936,225
Cost of labor.
$199,563.00
Value of supplies consumed .
19,985.53
Rent, taxes and other expenses
171,032.23
Total
$390,580.76
Net profit
$1,545,644.24
The capital stock of the company is
$1,500,000.00
Cash value of buildings at the mine.
15,000.00
Cash value of machinery at the mine.
50,000.00
Cash value of underground improvements.
150,000.00
Cash value of supplies on hand
10,000.00
But remarkable as this exhibit appears, it is surpassed by that taken from the books of the A. Y. and Minnie, located on Iron Hill at the northerly slope of California Gulch, owned by M. Guggenheim of New York, and Charles H. Graham of Phila- delphia. These claims were located in 1879 by Mr. A. Y. Corman, a poverty stricken pioneer resident of the Gulch named above. Corman worked them for a time without results, and falling into financial embarrassment, was struggling desperately to maintain himself, when a representative of the present owners appeared upon the scene and offered him $5,000 for his interest, which was immediately accepted. Fractional inter- ests owned by Samuel Harsh and a Mr. Loomis were subsequently purchased by Gug- genheim & Graham, who then became the sole proprietors, and at once entered upon a methodical scheme of development under the supervision of Mr. Thomas Weir. The latter resigned December 10th, 1888, and Charles L. Hill, the present incumbent, took charge. It was not until July, 1880, that the property was put in order for production. In this month the first load of ore taken from shaft No. I was marketed at the smelters, and found to contain fifteen ounces of silver and twenty-five per cent. of lead to the ton. After long and patient wrestling with adverse conditions, other shafts were sunk,
433
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
old and new drifts extended into larger and more valuable ore bodies, whereby the promise of a marvelous mine was revealed. From 1885 to the present it has been cele- brated as the greatest mine in the Rocky Mountains. It is here that the larger bodies of sulphide ores have been opened, but a part carrying a considerable percentage of zinc which rendered them unsaleable without concentration, mills for that purpose were erected.
On the Ist of July, 1887, after more than three months of careful examination, measurements and calculation of the vein matter exposed, the experts employed for the purpose, rendered a report, of which the following is the substance:
At the date named the amount of ore in sight-that is to say, completely blocked out in squares, and centrally penetrated by winzes, aggregated 4,715,299 cubic feet, the concentrating class reckoned at 772, and the smelting ore (saleable without concen- tration) at 61/2 cubic feet per ton. The product is divided into three distinct classes, ascertained by measurement and innumerable assays, as follows:
548,440 tons of concentrating, carrying 9 ozs. silver, and 11 per cent. of lead. 73,043 tons of smelting ore, carrying 54.04 ozs. silver and 25.04 per cent. of lead. 19,57 1 tons of smelting ore, carrying 20 ozs. silver and 40 per cent. of lead.
Which gives a total of 9,274,645 ozs silver, and 86,461 tons of lead.
Placing the commercial value of silver at 9014 cents an ounce, and that of lead at $40 per ton, the prices paid in Leadville, July Ist, 1887, the contents of the ore bodies then measured would be worth $11,828,835.88. The net value would be the above amount less the expense of mining, concentrating and smelting. At present prices for lead and silver, the amount would be materially increased.
From July, Ist, 1887, to January Ist, 1890, the company extracted 48,682 tons of concentrating ore, 45,620 tons of shipping ore, a total of 94,302, leaving 499,753 tons of concentrating, and 47,614 tons of shipping material in the mine. The receipts for this period from ores sold were $1,864,325.59 after deducting railway charges and cost of smelting. The total expense of mining was $481,113.15, leaving a clear profit to the owners of $1,383,212.44.
In the meantime, however, while the 94,302 tons were being extracted, the miners had opened three additional ore chutes in the claims, which in the opinion of the man- ager, Mr. Hill, contained quite as large masses, and of equal or greater average value than the tonnage taken out of those first measured and estimated, therefore on the Ist of January, 1890, it is assumed there was as great a quantity of ore in sight-viz., 4,715,299 cubic feet or 641,054 tons, as on July Ist, 1887. Estimating its contents at 9,274,645 ounces of silver and 86,461 tons of lead, the price of silver at $1. 15 per ounce, and the lead at $45 per ton, the prices paid in September when the writer examined the mine and obtained access to the books, would give the ore then exposed a probable gross value of $14,556,586.75. There is no doubt concerning the measurements of July, 1887. These we know to be approximately correct. The value of the ore is the only matter upon which there may be a difference of opinion when it comes to be taken down and sold. Yet from the great number of samples taken and assayed during the three months consumed in the measurements, the completeness of the exposures of ore, and the care taken to reach reliable conclusions, it may be assumed that the figures given come very near representing the value of this property in September, 1890.
28 III.
434
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
During 1889 the average number of men employed was 112. The exhibit for that year was as follows:
Receipts from sales of ore. $737,938.39
Receipts from the concentrating mill. 41,155.00
Expenses for the year
$779,093.39 161,097.91
Profit, less smelting and transportation $617,995.48
There were taken out during this period a total of 45,142 tons. The per cent. of expenses to gross receipts was 21.8 per cent., leaving a profit of 78.2 per cent. Cost per ton delivered to the mill and smelters, $3.56.
The surface area of the two claims is twenty acres. Value of the buildings thereon . $10,000
Value of the machinery. 25,000
The developments consist of three shafts, each 370 feet deep, and about 11,000 feet of levels penetrating the ore bodies. In closing this account I desire to express grateful acknowledgments to Mr. Charles L. Hill, the general manager, to Mr. Frank Street, bookkeeper and financial agent, and Mr. Samuel D. Nicholson, superintendent of the mine, for many courtesies rendered. It will be understood that the figures given from the books are reliable. As to the present value of the property in dollars, it depends wholly upon the value of lead and silver in the markets. It may be safely estimated, however, at about ten millions.
The Smelters of Leadville by the returns for the year 1889 indicate the tonnage of ores consumed and the products thereof, within the district. The importance of these institutions to the stability and advancement of all other interests is determined by the large number of men employed, the supplies consumed, and by the activity everywhere visible about them. By the near proximity of superior coals and cokes produced in the Jerome Park mines near Glenwood Springs; by the presence of superior fluxes in great abundance, and by the margin of saving on the transportation of ores, they are well prepared to compete with similar establishments located near Pueblo and Denver.
Their exhibit for 1889 is as follows:
The Arkansas Valley Smelter produced 9,237 14 tons of
bullion carrying lead 18,475,060 lbs.
Silver 2,204,208 ozs. 5,677 OZS.
Gold.
Also 142 tons of matte containing 114.592 ounces silver.
The American Smelter produced:
Lead 21,346,307 lbs.
Silver. 2,312,500 OZs.
Gold. 2,886 ozs.
The Harrison Reduction Works:
Lead.
8,688,000 lbs.
Silver.
I 187,106 ozs.
Gold. 5,210 OZS.
435
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
The Manville or Elgin Smelter:
Lead
Silver
Gold
5,602,293 lbs. 524,924 OZS. 1,856 ozs.
In early times, ores containing less than fifty to sixty ounces of silver per ton were not generally utilized, and they were either left standing in the mines or thrown into the waste dumps. But in later years material that carries, in combination with a good supply of lead, three to five ounces of silver, is readily available.
A number of sections having no prominence until within the past three or four years, and by many considered as outside the productive region, barren and worthless, have, by persistent prospecting developed some extremely valuable mines, as for example, Iowa and Empire Gulches, the head of California Gulch, on the east, and Sugar Loaf and St. Kevin districts on the west side of the Arkansas, the latter in true fissure veins. The augmented values of silver and lead since the passage of the silver bill by Congress at the first session of 1890 have wrought remarkable changes by stimulating production, and affording more profitable returns. Excessive water and the wider prevalence of refractory ores in some sections have been serious obstructions, but the application of more powerful pumps in the one case, and the adoption of new methods in the other, bid fair to overcome these difficulties. While a few mines have been temporarily closed from these causes during the year, the volume of production has been maintained by the addition of new ones, and the discovery of large bodies of rich ore in some of the more extensively exploited of the old. A conspicuous factor is the leasing and tribute systems, which, while they may not be best for the mine itself, for leasers and tributers rarely trouble themselves very much about the future condition of the property so that it be reasonably safe during their occupancy, have nevertheless had much to do with the increase of supplies and the conversion of abandoned work- ings into valuable producers.
The statements furnished by the smelters show that gold in combination with the silver-lead ores forms a material feature of the general results. The exhibit foregoing indicates that no less than 15,629 ounces were produced by the Leadville smelters alone during 1889, which at an average value of $18 per ounce, adds $281,322 to the gross. There are several mines, the most important being the Antioch, on the crest of Breece Hill, in which gold predominates.
"The metals the miner receives pay for," says Mr. Francis T. Freeland, a prominent engineer, "are gold, silver, lead, copper and iron. The customary treatment gives a clue to the character of the ore. A small quantity of free gold is still had from placers by sluicing with giants in California Gulch. The gold in a decomposed porphyry gangue, is worked by the usual gold stamp milling process, at the Antioch mine, the battery consisting of forty stamps. The largest part of the ore is treated by the ordinary lead smelting process, which collects the contained gold, silver and lead in the form of bullion. The sulphide ores"-of which very great quantities are produced, most of the larger mines having run into such ores-"are roasted before smelting. Stamping, roasting and pan amalgamation was worked on certain ores in early times but has been abandoned. The iron ores are largely used as fluxes in lead smelters. An exceptionally pure hematite and magnetic from the Breece mine has been shipped in
436
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
great quantities to the Pueblo Steel Works. The copper ores are smelted in rever- beratory furnaces at Argo, near Denver. The fissure vein ores, consisting mainly of sulphides of iron, with decomposed granite and porphyry and quartz gangues, are finely crushed by stamps and Huntington mills, and concentrated on jigs and tables. Oxidized ores, and waste heaps containing such ores, have been successfully concen- trated in large quantities on jigs and tables after crushing coarsely, at the Chrysolite, Agassiz, Henriett & Maid, and the Iron Mines."
The mines of the Iron-Silver Mining Company, for many years the most prolific in the district, equipped with the finest surface machinery plant, is doing little now save in exploring its vast territory for new bodies of ore. Its possessions comprise a large part of Iron Hill, continuing on through California Gulch over into Rock Hill, where the first discovery of carbonate ores was made by W. H. Stevens. The whole property is under development, but for some time past has paid no dividends. The company marketed 22,600 tons of ore in 1889.
In concluding this subject, it may be declared that all appearances denote the presence of a new epoch, filled with brighter promise than any that has yet shed its beneficent rays upon the district and people of Leadville. The old excitements, the exaggerated froth and fustian that made it notorious in the first years, have given place to elements founded upon legitimate industry, better methods in all departments, pro- gress based upon certainties, instead of demoralizing speculative ventures. It is in better condition to-day than at any time in its history. A single section of this limited area, with only a fraction of its productive territory explored, that yields from twelve to fourteen millions of dollars of new wealth each year under the difficulties that have there attended the pursuit of this industry,-the high cost of supplies, railway discrim- inations, the depressed prices of the principal metals prevailing from 1879 to the middle of 1890, and which still has enormous stores of ore in reserve, to say nothing of the contents of zones yet unexplored, is one that may be trusted to endure.
Most of the primitive hotels and lodging houses that were prominent centers in their time have disappeared, among them the once famous Clarendon, Windsor and Grand. The only hostelry that may now be rated as first class, is the Hotel Kitchen, originally the Tabor Grand, which fell into misfortune some years ago, and toward the close of 1887 was purchased by the Kitchen Brothers, given the family name, remodeled, refurnished, refitted and decorated throughout, in elaborate style, making it the equal of the best in Colorado.
The attractive suburbs of Leadville, forming beautiful summer resorts, are the Evergreen Lakes, the United States Fish Hatchery and the Soda Springs situate on the opposite side of the broad basin of the Upper Arkansas, under the shadows of the mighty range of mountains that forms the majestic foreground of a sublime landscape, that is a never ending source of delight to the inhabitants of the "Cloud City." These points are reached by smooth, admirably constructed drives and roadways, to which no public thoroughfares of the country are superior. The resorts mentioned are separated by little projections jutting out from the foothills of Mount Massive. The importance of these lovely spots, in the midst of pine forests, is enhanced by improvements recently made by the Federal Government, induced by the events following. In the autumn of 1888, the United States Fish Commissioner in Washington gave earnest consideration
IM Pierce
437
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
to a plan for the establishment of a large permanent station at some point in the Rocky Mountains for the propagation of game fish wherewith to stock the streams of Colorado and Utah. As a preliminary measure, Colonel John Gay, inspector of stations, was instructed to investigate and select the best available location. After an extended examination of various points, he arrived in Leadville during the month of February, 1889, and there met among other leading citizens, Colonel R. E. Goodell, to whom the plan of his chief was made known. The latter, always enthusiastic in advancing the interests of his adopted home, at once entered upon the work which gave promise of great benefit, and pursued it with unflagging zeal, until finally consummated. They visited Evergreen Lakes, a series of four small, but picturesque bodies of pure cold water collected in natural basins, at the base of the western range. After a time spent in overlooking the entire situation and its advantages, Colonel Gay rendered his report strongly recommending the adoption of an eligible site near the lakes mentioned, a short distance to the right, and between them and the Soda Springs, a mile or so to the northward. The recommendations were immediately approved by the commissioner, and surveys and maps were made by a local engineer of high repute, Mr. T. L. Darby. The lands selected were held under placer claims by Colonel Goodell and Dr. John Law, who in order to promote the scheme, gracefully surrendered their rights to them. transferring to the government. The tender being accepted, they were at once con- verted into a reservation or public park, and the lines extended westward beyond the original limits to the summit of Mount Massive, for the exclusion of trespassers.
Through the efforts of Senator H. M. Teller and others, Congress granted an appropriation of $15,000, which became available July Ist, 1889, at which time a con- tract for a suitable building was let. October 15th following, the corner stone was laid by Goodell, Dr. Law and one of the oldest patriarchs of the Arkansas Valley-Major H. H. De Mary. The structure of noble architecture, one of the finest designs that has ever been drawn for an institution of that class, built of red sandstone, one hundred feet in length by forty feet, eight inches in width, elegantly finished within and without, was completed in September, 1890. By the arrangements perfected, millions of small fry trout for the purpose indicated can be produced each year, and from its central position easily and rapidly distributed to the principal water courses of our own State and adjoining Territory-Utah. Pure water is obtained from natural springs along the mountain sides, and by canals from Rock Creek near at hand.
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