The Montana post., 1868-03-14

their well finished, neatly painted fronts to our
Broadway of mining hustle and hopeful sill
very anticipations. But little snow has fall
len here through the winter, the cold has not
been severe enough to chill the laborious
miner, and their well marked efforts have kept
time with the booming sounds of blasting In
the various mines that have been daily heard
resounding through the hills. But to return
to the lode. On the discovery We have run a
perpendicular shaft to the depth of twenty
1--WE feet, at which level the vein measures
forty feet wide, without a seam, solid in eve
ny part, and of such n character that powder
easily does its required work. The gangue
Is sulphate of baryta, which Is interspersed
with pure sulThuret of silver, light and dark
red silver ore, and large quantity of chlor-
ides intermingle with curling, wire-like nests
of native silver in great abundance, the mine
exhibiting richer specimens as we progress In
development. The lowest assay from the poor
est pound of quartz we could select determine
ed its value to be one hundred and thirty dol
lars per ton, the best working up into the
thousands. We have during the winter erect
ed log building 45x35, in which we have a
portable steam engine driving an arrastra,
crushing one thousand pounds of quartz in
six hours. the results may be seen In the
shape of silver bricks at the works and at the
Office of p. IL. Rea, of Helena. The fneness
of the silver extracted averages about 964
Without tools or material, we have
been compelled, "away up In the mountains"
to adopt the primitive mode of reduction, and
by the past experiments, we are satisfied, with
the assistance of modern appliances plenti-
fully distributed through the district, Nor
tana's fame would be acceptable to all nations
as the impress of her fair name would grace
the countless bullion that would consequently
flow from her mountain depths to the Golfers
of the world. Permit noe here to say, with
the most desirable machinery we want no pre-
tenders TO skill-an individual who has spent
months or even years In q United States assay
Office, or who has attended course of lee
lures on Metallurgy, OF who Is nice young
nephew of a stockholder in London COM
pany; or has a genteel faculty of presenting
his patent leather's TO the rough miners of
Montana; who knows quartz lode on paper,
but does not know silver bearing quartz from
sawdust, or q true vein from a hole In the
ground. You wiseacres of the monied world
select from this or similar category, as you
have been doing since American mining be-
gan, if you are anxious to spend your " bot
tom dollar" Place at the disposal of such
wisely selected, thousands or even millions of
money, the sooner you "play out" the better,
so, from the ashes of your downfallen wisdom
the miner may rejoice in the new regime that
will be forced on the rising generation.
Skill, real practical skill, a correct knowledge
of metallurgy, mineralogy and chemistry, to-
| gether with years Of practical experience In
milling or smelling, is what We will then
have, muse have, before success will crown any
efforts at quartz mining. There Is not a mill
standing idle in all Montana to-day but that
| its failure can be traced either to the sef-im-
4 portant superintendent who wouldnot permit
any person to doubt his wisdom In all matters
pertaining to his company's interest, OF Is as
| ignorant of the economical extraction of ores
\ and properly working the same, as any OF
your monied nabobs whose self-conceit per
mits him to ego it blind" on the representa-
| ton of some wildcat individual who would
| Just as soon lie as tell the truth. Take YOU
money and you will wreck the whole "out6t'
in six months, giving you a chance to curse
Montana, the richest mining country yet dis
| covered to the world.
CHARLES RUMLEY,
Helena, March 9, 1865.