Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-12-19
COLORADO TREASUR RES.
Where the Bullion and Gold Ore Comes
FrOM---The POtOsi of America.
Colorado S prings Gozette

Colorado prlngS GOzette.
The citizens of Colorado Springs have
examined with interest and curiosity
the great piles Of bags containing ore
and the rich masses Of bar bullion
heaped up around our depot, that
hourly arrive from the mountains on
the west, and each day are carried
off by trains to the eastern markets.
The interest felt is one that grows nat
urally out of the appeal that this trade
makes to the pocket Of every citizen,
because it means additional activity in
all branches Of our already prosperous
trade. 1t means large returns to the
freighters and forwarders, an excellent
outlet for supplies to the miners and
smelters, greater activity In real estate,
demands for new building, and good
rents for old Ones-in short, it means a
bigger city and richer one Many Of
our citizens have followed up this stream
of ore to its source during the last two
months, and have returned with tales
of mineral wealth so marvellous and OF
scenery SO grand that many others
have followed, so that now the resources
and wealth of California gulch and the
"Oro district are known SO generally
that what we write may seem trite to
numbers of our readers, but they must
remember that the Gazette goes widely
among people of other states, who hear
but indistinct rumors of this new Amer
icaa POtOSi
Two routes lead us from our depot
here to the ORC district; both follow the
Ute pass to the South Park and there di-
vide. The southern route crosses the
west rim of the park by the Iroute
creek pass, which is an easy road over
the range, and is so low that it is rarely
much INSTRUCTED by snow This is
about one hundred and thirty-fve
miles long. The other road crosses the
South Park farther west and rising
above timber line reaches Orc by the
Weston Pass, about one hundred and
ten miles. 1t is over this pass that the
ores and bullion of the district are now
brought. The smelters have made the
road good, and in order to get out the
rich ores and metal this winter have de-
termined themselves to haul on sleds
over the high range to a depot on the
east side and then contract with the
teams of the country to bring it down
through the Ute pass to the railway
The ore is SO pure that it is shoveled
IN at the top of the furnace without pre-
paration and the resulting metal runs
out at the bottom into mOlds ready to
be sent east-solid "rich-lead." Only
one more process is required to make
it ready for the mint, and that is per-
formed at st. Louis. at cost of $15 per
ton.
There are sampling works at Orc
which grind up the rich ores and prepare
them for the market The two now at
work will not nearly supply the require
ments of the miners, and one of them
is about to double it's capacity. These
works take the rich ores from the
miners, grind it fine enough to make
an assay, then having determined how
much metal there is in the ore, by a
careful fire test, they buy it and put it
into the canvas bags that we see piled
up IN such masses at our depot. In
this form it is ready to go to New York,
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ST. Louis. or
Omaha, where it is reduced to silver
and lead So rich is the yellow, dirty
looking material that seems so plenty
to the Colorado Springs freighter, that
much Of it could be smelted into bars in
common stove, and often is so full of
the precious metals that a pound would
give dollars worth Of silver and gold
For miles around California, Stray
Horse, Evans Empire, Iowa and other
valleys, the carbonate " that consti-
tutes the bulk Of the ore is found.
There ere already twenty three mines
producing ore for shipment, and one
enthusiastic mine-owner says he can
produce thousand tons per day if he
can get shipment for his ores.
The ore is in a limestone bed, and is
like seam of black band iron ore or a
layer of soft sandstone. It crops out on
the side of the mountain in belts miles
in extent. One man has shipped $4O,-
600 worth of ore from bit of ground
about as large as the cellar of a Color
ado Springs store. He found the ore
at the bottom ola hole less than four
feet deep; he put it into sacks and sent
it off to the smelter at the rate Of five
tons per>day as a result Of his own I'M
aided labor. This ore had $40 worth Of
metal in it when delivered in ST. Louis.
He can go into his mine now, and at
any time scrape out with fire shovel
or a sugar scoop 500 worth of ore in an
hour. He keeps, naturally enough, a
lock on the door of the draft Another
miner has sunk four shafts, and devel-
oped an acre of his property, upon
which he believes, from measureme nts,
that he has over 81 100000 worth of
100-oz ore. Another miner has taken
out l 400 tons from his shafts, and is in
creasing his force Another is selling a
little ore to keep himself going, and
piling up in his mine to await the open
ing of spring.
Quantities of ore with $50 to 800