The Montana post., 1868-09-25
THE "PARsON /, AT UNION

Prompted less by any feeling OF cleri-
cal duty, than by desire TO see that
place where 1.-The root of all evil is SC
extensively unearthed, / last week visi-
! ted the oldest and most celebrated gold
, quartz ca mp in the Territory-thai
which has given birth to the town oi
UnioDville. Ii was a day of the Indian
summer, with just enough of July in
the air to temper the otherwise chilly
} mountain breezes, and such a slight
hint at the approach OF December as
seemed 10 fill one with life and vigor-
and the company was not less agreeable
than the weather. John Atchison, ESQ,
cashier of the First National Bank, the
exhibitor of large bricks and sound f.
nancial judgment, l.. NJ. Black, ESQ,
from America, Capt. Chas. Hendrie, of
the Helena Foundry, and almost any
where else that money is TO be honestly
made by enterprise, and Gen. Clampitt,
of the postal service, were of the party.
OF the ride to Unionville through the
long, cauyon-like gulch of Orc FinO, |
need not particularly speak. The first
quartz mill TO which il brought US was
a rude arastra, situated just below
Unionville, worked by water power, and
running upon rock from the Wiscon-
sin lead. As that odd locking wheel.
standing entirely above the general sur
face OF the ground, and caused to re-
volve by scarcely over a sluice hsad of
water, slowly performed it's work, il
spoke forcibly of the wealth which is
ultimately To accrue TO Montana, on ac-
count OF the freedom of her gold-bear-
ing ores from sulphurets. While in
Colorado and Nevada expensive roasting
| processes, in great variety. and an intin-
ijude of pans" are resorted to for the
\ purpose OF. extracting the gold from the
rock, here in MOntsna our quartz is OF
such a nature that simple arastra, a
stone boitomed tub, IN which little
brook, through the medium of prints
tive water wheel causes large rocks to
be dragged about, is sufficient TO obtain
the precious metal in paying quantities.
The free character OF the gold in our
leads, therefore, allows low grade ores to
be worked with profitable results, when
the same rock, if combined with sulph~
urets, as in many other mining coun-
tries, would be perfectly useless, or,
worse than that. would form the base
for long years of expensive and unsuc-
cessful experimenting. Passing by this
arastra, our road suddenly turned To the
right, around a wooded point, beyond
which, walled in by those rocky ranges
which tower on every side, and by means
of which nature has seemed to attempt Its
concealment from the world lay that
mountain valley with it's golden soil
which has within three years attained
to such importance in our Territory.
Where three years ago there was scarce
anything save an undisturbed forest
and solitude, is now to be heard the
continuous stamp of numerous mills
crushing the products of the one inn
I'll. II.
been developed. Rocks which the del>
uge left piled in quaint heaps upon the
surface of the ground have been thrown
down, seams in the earths crust which
were filled during the last convulsion of
nature are being opened by the powder
and pick OF the uIiner, the hiding places
of the deer and bear have been inva-
ded, and one OF the most thriving yil-
lages of the Territory stands in the
midst of all. At the lower end of
Unionville stands the Hodge mill. an
establishment which saws but little, but
which makes its full share of the noise
in the world by the incessant move
ment of it's stamps, and which gives
good proof that it finds its business
profitable, in the fact that IL never stops
running unless, as is seldom the case, a
break in the machinery compels IL so to
do. This mill is crushing ore from the
Whitlatch Union mine, and is commonly
understood TO be steadily yielding 10 its
stockholders such handsome dividends
as would pay the interest on
two million dollars at Eastern rates.
At the upper end of the town is the
splendid Union mill. provided with thir-
" stamps, and every week showing
magnificent results in the shape of large
gold bricks exhibited in the banking
houses of Helena. Those who have no
faith in quartz could in no better man~
ner convince themselves of its value
than by visit to this mill and a care
ful scrutiny and study of the various
manipulations and treatments which the |
ore receives As the reddish brown and
dirty looking rock is shoveled into the
building and deposited in one great
heap along the entire side of the room,
the visitor is half inclined to believe
that the MILL is being run for the eNclu-
sive purpose of making show and in
order to effect sale of property. As
the larger pieces of rock are broken up
by sledges and thrown into those long
iron box-like batteries, into which
stamps of four and five hundred pounds
weight are constantly falling il requires |
al exercise of much faith in the asser
tions of others TO believe that gold, that
bright g,ittering lever which moves the
world, will ever result from the process.
Thinking to help the visitors unbelief.
the mill superintendent invites his guest
to inspect the tables, the long sheets OF
copper, coated with quicksilver, over
which spreads the water, charged with
its minute particles of rock and gold, as
it constantly flows from the batteries.
The little Jumps and ridges, which still
coated with quicksilver, appear upon
the surface of these tables, are exhibited
as an evidence that the quartz really
does contain gold, but the millman is
astonished to find that the visitor fails
to regard even this as proof positive of
the presence of the precious metal. But
when these tables are eventually
scleaned nm" by having the quicksilver