Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1879-12-18
lfrom n. Y. Tribune.
Success in Mining.
TIE Ce.sssse.s Of Prosperity.

TIE Csaaisisss Of Prosperity.
| A WARNING TO THOSE WHO WOULD INVEST
CAPITAL IN MINING ENrERrmsEs-sAfE
PRINCIPLES.
From staa Corres pon dent of the Tribune.l
SALT LAKE CRY, UTAH. Oct. A.-Min-
ing for the precious metals Is just as legiti-
mate n business as farming, manufactur-
ing, or buying and selling goods, and
ought to be managed with the same pru-
dence and forethought. From the very
nature Of the business IL Is necessarily y
more hazardous than some other enter
prises, because It's success always depends,
10 greater or less degree, on the character
and extent Of mineral deposits which can
not be seen when the Investment has TO be
made. and the valve Of which cannot be
knowa often until large sums OF money
have been spent tor machinery and in max
ing explorations. II is a proserb among
| miners thst one man can SEQ beyond the
| point OF q pick as we'll as another, by
| which they mean that no learning or ex-
| perience enables any man 10 know posi-
| lively very much about = vein or deposit
| Of gold or silver beyond the point where
| II has been opened and actually examined.
| In broad sense this Is true; no one can
know with certainty what lies hidden 10
! the earth until he has dug and exposed It's
secrets to the light; but II Is also true that
some men. either by study or experience.
or both, become able TO judge better than
others, even before mnc has been d.
veloped wha, It will probably amount to.
| and almost anyone can learn something
about II II he Will take the necessary
! trouble.
But IL mining il more hazardous than
some other kinds of business. the returns
IL brings when successful are generally
greater. In describing Tor the readers Of
the Tribune the different mining regions
visited during the past Summer and au-
tumn, have mentioned a lew ventures
that with the investment OF very little
capital In the start, have paid all the e1-
penses attendant on their development and
are now worth millions OF dollars. !
doubt II there Is single instance in the
United States in which any man or any
company OF men engaged in manufactur-
Ing or mercantile enterprises have seen
business which they we're willing TO sell
tor half a million dollars. making more
than 100 per cent prod, even t that price,
grow 10 be worth four million dollars Ia
about two years. only one hundred thou
sand dollars having been put into 1t In that
time. And yet this Is the history OF the
Homcstake Mine In the Black Hills, and
readers OF the Tribune csu recall other
Instances In which the growth OF values
Ia mining enterprises has been almost as
great.
The great ler risk that attends mining en-
terprtses makes Il much more essential
that business prudence and iorethought
should De exercised BY thos. who engage
or Invest their mouey In them. An idea
seems 10 prevail among the people In many
parts OF the country remote from the miu-
ing regions that mines are scarce. bat that
when one has been found the fortunes OF
all who can get All interest In IL are a.
good as made. should suppose. from
private letters have received during the
past few ldonths and from conversations
have had vita Strangers 10 the mountains,
that 1t Is popiilarly supposed that pros
pcctors spend their lives In hunting for
mines very much As some fortune.seekers
hunt for buried treasures along the New
England coast; that the discovery OF a
mine i the event OF lifetime aud makes
It's pO,-essor At once rich naD. People,
therefore. who would want TO know all the
details OF any ordinary business In which
they were solicited 10 engage, and would
be unwilling TO risk their money in il uu-
less they were informed ali about the de-
lalis pi tue uautSt ultub OE CDulu see Tor
themselves just how their capital was to
be lGyested, are often anxious to put their
money into mining enterprises without any
such precautions Mines are by no meaos
scarce In any OF the wel-knowu mineral
regions In the West. There are mines
and mines almost without end, and 1t Is no
uncommon thicg for prospector To
locate" half a dozen claims In g single
season. But good mines are scarce-al-
mos, as scarce, TO use Yankee compari-
sou. as hens teeth-aud money Invested
10 mine that Is not good might just as
we'll be thrown Into the sea.
\ good mine In the first place, must
have ore 10 Il In sufficient quantities. 10
keep u mill or smelter Ia operation for at
least year IN order TO make II at all SAT.
TO expeud the money which reduction
works will cost. | don't mean that II must
be supposed 10 have that amount OF ore.
but that ii must either have been taken out
and piled up on top ot the ground or 80
exposed In the mine TO be seen aud
easily measured. | suppose more money
has been lost by inVes ing Il in machinery
Tor the reduction OF ores in places where
It aiterward turned out that there were no
ores 10 reduce, or where the machinery
WAS not adapted TO the ores that were
found, than even IN the purchase OF worth
less mines gentleman who visited
Montana on business In 1868 aud collected
statistics OF its business told me that there
were st that early day no less thaa nifty
quartz mills in the Territory, most OF them
small, to be sure, but that oue-hslf OF them
were then Idle for the very reasons above
given. The freight alone on that machine
rs which VAS worthless to It's owners had
not been less than ten 10 fifteen cents u
pound aud the labor of setting IL up and
erecting buildings was paid for at the rate
Of from ten TO twenty dollars day. A
lnsjority ot those mills have long since dis
appeared aud their Site, even have been
forgotten; but not only 10 Montana, bat
also IN Utah, Colorado, Nevada and n
every mining district that Is Il few years
old. are there many mills or smelters
which are Idle because they were built In
places where there was no work for them
to do, or where the work to be done was
not such as they were Intended TO per
form.
Mistakes OF this Kind are made almost as
frequently to-day as at any period In the
mining history of III, country. l relate
only one of several INSTANCES which have
seen or heard of during the past few
months. Mr.. Wood. whose fame as the
discoverer Of the Leadville carbonstes has
that he met recently in Tucson. Arizona.
an old California friend whose business 10
the smelling of ores. On asking what his
business was, Mr.. Wood found that he
had sold furnace to a Phiadelphia COM
pany and had gone 70 Tucson 10 set II up.
After his arrival he went out TO visit the
mine which was to supply the smeHer with
ore, and when with some difficulty he had
found il, he saw only = small hole in the
ground with about seven tons OF ore lying
by its side. He saw no signs Of ore in the
mine itself. and could not mske up his
mind whether the rock that was piled up
came out OF the mine or from some other
place. Aud even if the ore had been
abundant, it was not Of such . character
that 1t could be reduced il, furnace. The
gentleman al once communicated with his
customers IN Philadelphia. advising them
TO send some one 10 whom they had cOnn-
deDce To examine their property before
they incurred any further expense. A
gestlen,an from Oregon was sent 10 Tue
son. and on his Recommendation the fur
mace and additional apparatus which had
been sent from New York were placed in