Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1877-04-19
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE.
Pony, March 81

DEAR HCSBANDMAN ;rct
The town of Pony is located on a oai J'SN
at the foot hills upon the BANKS ol
creek about II miles north OF Sterling a''0
about Is miles south of the Jefferson
CANYON. 1t is not the prettiest localion -
the world for u city, being walled III ~ "
sides by mountains, and headed on Oh =
east and west by mill site land Claims ~
there is room enough for Il colisioc! =
town. 1t was located by the FARMERS -
Willow creek valley, and was flfst KNOW "
tbe name of "Granger," but has since pee'l
christened Pony, after Pony gulch, Il scah's-
paving placer gulch which was dlscoVeieo
and worked by a peculiar branch OF 'ie
Smith family, who bore the hoIoreu "iio
classic title of Pony Smith, some years ago.
The town is well laid out with streets anu
alleys Of GOOD width. About 300 town lots,
4Ox1O0 feet. have been located and recorded,
some of which extend up the mountain sloe
several hundred feet, and about one-thlro oi
these are represented by new buildings just
completed or in course Of erection. There
are three hotels, two stores, three saloons,
two livery stables, two blacksmith SHOPS
one shoemaker shop, one harness shop, one
butcher shop and one barber shop III town,
all Of which appear to be doing a hourlsl'iig
business. OF the forty buildings now oelng
constructed, nearly all are owned by specu-
lators, and many Of the houses nearing COM
pletion are, we learn from inquiry, to be
used for saloons.
There are two quartz mills here, both OF
which are silent. One Of them, a tve-stamp
turbine water-power mill, known as the
Gctchel mill, having recently broken the
cam shaft, is being repaired, and will be in
operation again in a few days. We learn
that five more stamps are to be added at an
early day. This mill has been running on
ore from the Boss Tweed lode with exceed
ingly good results. The Mallory mill still
ated just above town, is q ten-stamp over
shot water power. 1t has been crushing ore
from the keystone lode, but on account OF
the muddy roads, which prevented the de-
livery of quartz, it was shut down.
To-day we visited the upper town, which
is located in the gulch about Two miles above
Pony. This town is called ''Strawberry,"
being named after the famous Strawberry
lode. This little burg, like Pony, is build
ing up rapidly, and now has one hotel, one
saloon and one shoe shop. Messrs. j. NJ.
Province and d. A. Grimes, of Deep creek
Meagher county, are the nroprietors of the
store and shoe shop. Messrs. Trip & Bro,
Of Missouri valley, are building a livery
stable. Just above the town Mr.. Geo. More
lands fifteen-stamp steam mill is humping
away. making the hills echo with its roar
and buzz of business. 1t is now running on
Strawberry ore, such as has yielded $40 to
the ton when worked with an arastra. The
quartz is partially d~ecomposed, brittle, and
easily crushed, and saved simply in the bat
teries and upon the shoot tables, without the
use of chemicals, pans or blankets. The
shaft OF the Strawberry lode, which We WIS.,
tied, is about 800 feet from the mill, on top
of the mountain. The ledge is about eight
feet wide at the surface, and holds its full
width at the depth of fifty feet, this being
the depth of the deepest shaft. 1t runs
nearly perpendicular into the hill, is well
defined, and has every Indication of being a
permanent lead. Mr.. Moreland has let the
contract of sinking it 100 feet deeper to Jas.
Pettijohn, a qnartz miner of considerable
experience. He also has a contract of talk
ing out quartz at So per ton, and has run
levels about 30 feet each way from the shaft,
and is employing eight or nine hands in
STOPPING out and hosting ore. Mr.. Moreland
informed us that the quartz grows better as