The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1878-05-08

| HELENA, al. L. Aprll 10, 1918.
The greatest excitement for years has
been produced IN mining circles by the
discovery of gold bonspzs in Montsns.
! The tame of this rich mine will soon
spread all over the United States and
throughout the world if it continues TO
produce as 1t has done during the past
month. To ascertain the truth CT the
many rumors in circulation about the
old bonanza your correspondent has viz
| tied the scene of operations, and finds,
sf.er careful lnvestig alton, that the Won
| derlul tales told are lot much eXagger-
ated. The Penobscot discovery is genu-
inc and tho richness of the ore really
something wonderful.
THE ORIGINAL DISCOVERY.
In tho summer Of 1876 gold bearing
| rock was first discovered at Penobscot,
| about sixteen miles distant from this city.
! The character of the quartz taken out
was not such rs 10 warrant the belief
that the district was very rich in precious
metals, and the mine created no excite
meIL whatever. In the fall of 1876 Mr..
Nathan s. Vestsl, an experienced miner,
| discovered indications of rich ore, and
quietly bought out the original locatOrs
| Of the Penobscot The names Of these
men were ID A. Murphy, VIM. l.. RAIDER
and Burton Nash, who had sunk several
shafts, but found only ore paying small
profits. The mine was divided into
two discoveries, East No. and West No.
2 Mr.. Vestal worked some Of the ore,
bt,t . al hn
ued labor during the winter, but COM
menced again in the spring and con-
Jinued working until August, when he
desired TO make division OF the mine
with his partner, Captain Sears. The
Captain took the Emma Mine and an
arastra for Ills share, Mr.. Vestsl becom-
ing by this exchange the sole proprietor
of the Penobscot. He now went TO work
IN earnest upon discovery No. 2, taking
out ore and crushing 1t in an srss.ra.
HIS means were limited, and he could
employ but small force. The ore,
however, was very rich and soon gave
| him some money.
NO ONE BELIEVED PHE NINE VALUABLE
The srsstrs being unable TO crush all
the ore taken out, Mr.. Nestal came to
helena aud tried to borrow on his mine
q few hundred dollars with which to put
up n small mill 1t is fact he had hard
work to raise the money, and it was only
by appealing to an cid personal friend,
Mr. John Whitehead, 1t was finally OBJ
tanned. A tive.stamp mill owned by Mr..
Cartwright was hired and set TO work
| 1t was an old rsttle-trsp of an affair
which had been lying idle for years near
| Helena, and the plates and stamps were
very imperfect, experienced miners say
| ing it did not save over forty per cent.
OF the gold in the rock milled: Mr.
| Vestal found himself 81 900 in debt on
| the day when be set his mill TO work.
| For fourteen days he pounded away, and
on the l4th of February, his birthday, he
appeared in Helena, paid every dollar Of
the the debt he owed and deposited Sl3,-
| 900 TO his credit IN bank. OF course such
an event was not long in leaking out, and
| created some talk in the streets; but
Vestsl said nothing, and quietly returned
TO his mine.
GOLD POURING IN.
In few days Mr.. Vestal sent TO Hele-
ns $40 ounces in gold, worth $4,000, and
it was deposited to his credit in bank.
The expressman told Of the treasure he
mad brought in, and again their was some
talk about the PenobscO' but it soon died
out, and the men in the hills worked
away, forgotten by the busy city only
sixteen miles distant from them. Early
in March Mr.. Vestsl appeared IN HeIc-
IA with $4,000 in gold, and deposited it
in bank. This was too much for even q
mining town TO stand, and the widest
excitement ensued. The Penobscot was
in everybodys mouth, and at the hotels,
saloons, and even in families nothing else
was talked about. The HershiieId
Brothers, Mr.. Vestsps bankers, were
visited by crowds, and the retOrts exam
ined carefully. They were hard, yellow,
and cold, but pure gold, snd when pisced
on the scales weighed $4,000 1t was
enough TO excite any one when 1t was re-
membered that all this money had been
taken from one little mine in few days !
and that there were millions more OF the |
yellow metal said TO be slowed in the |
earth where the Jumps had come from.
EXAMINING THE NINE.
The mine is on the very top Of the |
divide" or high mountain ridge that |
separates the east and west Of our CONT |
nent. The waters in tull sight OF the |
mine flow each way some OF them emp |
tying into the Missouri and others IN the
Western rivers, which flow to the Psclhc |
coast. The shaft is sunk little way |
down the western slope snd is therefore |
Pacific mine, but by so few feet that both |
the East and West can claim 1t. Mr..
Vestsl owns about one thousand feet OF !
the ridge, and his shaft is on the east end |
of the claim. The hole or excavation |
goes down almost perpendiculsrly. 1t is
fifteen feet in length and fourteen in
width The depth reached Is h.ty-hVe
feet aud the mine has produced over
$4,000, or more than 81 900 to the foot. !
The vein is rs broad as the hole Is wide,
hut the ore is not in solid body. The
seams of ore are divided by layers or
perpendiculsr strata of rotten sba.e rock.
rhe widest vein of ore is perhaps four
feet, and this is very rich. The smaller
or thanking veins are not so rich rs the
center one, but the ore is OF good quality
Outside the veins is a wall Of rock which
goes straight down, holding the ore like
a wedge between its granite sides.
RICH QUALITY OF THE ORE.
The ore is yellow and very soft. Rub
il in the hand and it will crumbIe to
nieces 1t is full OF free gold and spar
kIes when held to the light. a piece as
large as q walnut will contain million
minute particles OF gold. In the mine
lighted candle is reflected by millions OF
sparkling gems in the SIDES OF tne mi iS
msny of them no larger than pms
noint The best of the ore when
cPf Tl.5 yields $500 to $1,000 per ton,
and a the poorer seams $40 to $50 per ton.
TT@ ora from the rich seam is separated
from the poorer ones aud hoisted to the
surface, where it Is dumped on a pile oy
itself. Much of it is very iuH Q! Tree
gold, and piece which can be carried IN
>, ls,d u,her pOunded I'D Will yield