The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1877-07-03

The Placer and Quartz Mines q oattis
creek-RIch Dry Digqings.

HAYWARD SITs, oLACh HILLS, [
L.EIt5gt- June 25th, 1876.
To the Editor Of The Leader:
1t has been my intention for some
time past to give you a description of
the mines in this section Of country,
but owing to the extreme l%iveliness Of
the boys who follow the profession Of
taking pieces of rope with a bunch Of
animate life attached, In the shape of q
horse, I have been kept In the saddle
most Of the time since my arrival here.
They are now looking for q more hos
pitable section of country, and I am in
hopes that they will give US a rest.
In the last two months I have visited
nearly every mining camp in the Hills,
and with the exception Of Deadwo I'd
and Gayville, 1 find that our camp is
the best in the Hills. Business for a
few weeks past has been dull, owing to
high water and the stampede to the
dry diggings, six miles to the north Of
us, but Battle creek Is beginning to
loom up again.
Phillips s Brown on yesterday struck
their old pay streak, and last night
cleaned up an ounce and a half to the
man. This was on Number 3.
Mcssrs. Young & Co. have been buy
ing all the claims they could get from
men wso did not have the capital to
open up their claims, and are now
working q large force and cleaning up
from ten to fifteen dollars per day to
the man Several other claims are
paying good wages, although they are
not yet fairly opened.
Quartz is all the rage, and every
canon in this part of the Hills has It's
camp of quartz-hunters. Over two
hundred lodes and extensions have
been located within the last month,
and on many of them miners are hard
at work. Quite u number have been
opened up in good shape, showing we'll
defined leads with regular, smooth
walls. Old quartz miners say that the
southeastern portion Of the Hills is
the richest quartz country they ever
saw. Phillips s. Brown have sunk a
shaft to the depth of fifty feet, and can
show as fine q lead Of collaborating
quartz as can be found in any mining
country. Assays have been made from
this lead, the lowest showing S65 per
ton, and running as high as S130, with
a trace of silver. This is called the
Dakota lode.
Silver s. Co. have a lead near the
town, in Foster Gulch, out of which
they are taking large quantities of
ore, which has assayed in Philadelphia
1862 per ton in gold. An assay here
by Prof. Vosburgh showed over 5000.
This is called the Sitting Bull.
Ward Sc Co have a fine silver lead on
Iron creek, called the Gray Eagle.
There is also q lead on the same creek
which assays tin in large quantities,
and a gang of miners are now at work
opening the lead.
The FL Paso lead, owned by Phillips
& Ely, has recently been discovered,
and shows free gold across the full face
of the lead. 1t is only two feet in
width, and they think they have the
richest lead yet found. No assay has
yet been made Of this lead. All the
leads in this part Of the country that l
have seen and which are opened up,
are well-deined leads. An we now
want Is a good quartz mill, and I am
positive that when u leads are thor
oughly tested we shall have as good q
camp as Deadwood.
Rockerville Is the metropolis of the
new dry diggings, and is the happiest
camp I have seen in the Hills. Nearly
every man who is at work there is re-
alizing from five to twenty dollars per
day. The diggings are on q high
prairie, covered with little says, dirt
from which pays from eight to twenty
five dollars per load. The gold is rock
ed out at the springs at Rockerville.
Some Of the miners haul the dirt to
Spring creek, a distance Of q mile
and a half, and sluice it out.
These diggings were discovered by Capt.
Jack, some five months ago. He washed
out about two thousand dollars and
recently sold his claims for u good
figure, and has begun prospecting for
quartz. Several good leads have been
discovered near these d~iggings.
Our merchants here are doing a good
business furnishing supplies for these
mines. Five miles to the east and
south Of US the ranchmen are making
extensive preparations to cut hay,
which can be put up In large quantities
with very little expense. The mer-
chants in Custer City are doing a lively
business furnighing supplies to the
surrounding mining camps, and are
buying goods in large quantities.
The placer mines in Harvey City and
vicinity are yielding good wages, some
| Of them as high az ten dollars per man