New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-06-27
COLORADO'S NEW WEALTH.


t4F
comes IN Iealville expects TO buy discover sill
,-,r mine and 10 become suddenly rich. The mar
1-eIlous GOOD fortune of few lucky men who made
Early Investments here Of money or LABOR tine
short cut they have managed to find from pinehng
roverty to wealth. the exciting reports, frequently
true. that are circulated every day. OF nc"
strikes which almost like magic convert venture
s,Ime nut often dead broke" and despair'hg pIos-
psctors into great capitalists the wonderfully sue
cosful speculatiOns In town lots lew months aeo'
and the universal excitement when pfeVai's-@',
have tendency e. throw men of their balance ana
In rive them the fever 60 the vernacuIar OF
The camp. But the prizes, even here among eho
carbonate mines, are, elsewhere very ie" "neh
compared with the blanks. | know OF no place III
the country where it is more uncomfortable for
moor man 70 fail than here IN Leadvlne. There are
without question. more promising opportunities Ior
Ynonev-makiug in this immediate vicinity than al
most anywhere else IL the United states. but the
fortune-hunter must exercise the same diligence,
thrift and prudence to succeed here that are requl-
site in other places Fortunes have been made IN
Lradviue by lucky strikes but these have been
exceptional cases, and viii probably be less ire
queEt in the future.
II is easier 10 enumerate some Of the classes OF
men who ought not to come To Lcadyiile than 20
name those who might possibly do well here. NO
one. unless he has a situation definitely engaged,
enough 10 pay all his expenses while he remains
here. aud for bis fare home again If he should de-
sire to return Persons who come here hoping to
obtain employment are almost sure to be Glsap-
pointed unless they willing to go into the mines
TO work as common iaborers for about two or three
dollars a day. Employment of this kind, even, may
not he easily obtained. There is now no demand for
the services Of clerks, boOkeepers or mechanics; or
rather. tie supply far exceeds the demand. Nearly
-I,r. hars tn at m m
with him from Denver or the East all the assist
ants whom he needs. a month or two ago. when
The CITY was rapidly growing and before the exodus
to the Ten Nile and GunnIson regions and TO the
prospecting camps. which may be found on the
mountain sides almost anywhere within htty miles
OF Ieadville. carpenters and other mechanics had
no trouble in obtaining employment. Now building
has received a temporary check, and hundreds Oh
mechanics are Idle.
man who has few hundred, or perhaps one OF
two thousand dollars which be desires 10 invest in
anime nav do 30 in one Of several ways. lie may
beeoTne a prospectOr and search for ore IN a new
place he NAV buy out some prOspectOr who mas
become discouraged. and continue the work already
begun he may go INTO partnership with Others
purchase a nine in which TIE mineral has al
ready been struck, for the purpose either OF
working il OF developing il and selling again ut a
profit OF he may purchase the shares OF mining
company that owns a developed mine already pay
ing dividends. If man becomes a prOspector, he
needs at least two partners unless he has capital
enough to enable him to hire two men for several
months. pay them wages and supply them with pro-
visions He Will then buy mule or pony, pack
1n,u if tent some bedding cooking utensils tools
and PROVISIONS and going out on the mountain side,
select a spot and begin 70 dig. To sink shaft OF
drive = tunuel 100 feet and timber il properly viii
cost about 81, 600 and if mineral is found, as
much more money viii be required to pay for the
necessary machinery 10 work the mine 10 aCvan-
tace. Prospect holes that are down anywhere
from ten 10 100 feet may frequently be bought
for one-Lah OF onethITd OF what II mas cost 20 ulS
then.
The chances nav be said TO be good that pros
hector VIII find paving ore on either Of the SILVER
hills here az LeadvIne if he has chosen his location
with care and perseveTes ID his digging but there Is
danger that when the vein is found the owners Of
some elder mine will claim II, and that nJunctions
and lawsuits viii follow before the title Is settled
The mining laws Of the United States authorize the
CRIMINAL discoverer OF vein TO follow it in all It's
dps and spurs wherever it may lead, and such a
discoverer now claims the right 10 stop anyone else
WIN has gone further MP tie nil and sunk shaft,
rovided be can prove that IL pierces the same vein
that bs is working upon. Scores of lawsuits tnyofy-
inz this question now pending, and almost
every new mine that is now opened # 10 is proms-
ing IN Its character, is met with an Injunction
issued I'd the instance Of some older interest. A
man may dig TO his hearts content as long as be Is
not within the limits Of any other PERSONS ciaIn'
and nobody VIII care to interfere with HIM. Dnt as
coon a. he strikes mineral he must expert 10 hgnt
for the possession Of his mine.
Mines In which the ore has already been found
NAV be bought nj all prices from few Thousand to
bupdreds Of thousands of dollars ; the value de-
penfirp BpOn the location OF the mine, the thlck-
mess and character Of the vein and the extent OF ts
development. There Is an art IN buying mines Tor
proH+ as there Is in every other kind OF business
and the man who does not want to get cheated
even when dealing with one whom he supposes 10
he an Ignorant prospectoT must keep his eyes open
and his wits about him. 1t viii not do to conclude
that the mine is a valuable one because specimen
of ore from il has assaye at the rate OF 300 or even
900 oupees Of sill YER TO the ton, You may lind IN
almost any bar-room IN Lsadvile twenty pieces or
ore from "a many different mines that assay very
bigb-some Of them show tho presence Of q consid-
erale quantity Of gold-but very few of those mines
are promising ones. The specimens that have been
selected for assay are in most the very richest
that have been found H. the mine, and are by no
means fair sa1ples Ofths ore as 1t runs.
Ibave seen strangers in Leadville, who have been
here only day OF two, aad who have had no ex-
,-isnce with ores which has qualified them TO act
sv., iptelljrentlv become half crazy with excite
mont over specimens of ore that are shown them.
When a man makes a strike he has an assay HSue
snd leaves a sample OF his ore, with cara on WIhCI
= ,rirf.n tbe name OF the mine and the result or
The ASSAY IN some drinking saloon as q SoiJ OF an
advertisements met. the ot9et STSn 5i ~
yougrmeu from Wisconsin, who. The tlird gay Ato
their arrival hsre bought a mine Tor SI2O on the
strsug 9Th of specimens which they saw IL q par
room and a very hasty look at me nole lu Ile
sy,ll,T fron, which they were told, the samples
bad seeu taken. Fortunately before paSlDs ohoii
1,oIeg t1,v colsuted with an acquaintance, resi-
10. m s.Vf