New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-10-04
MINING IN MONTANA.
VI.

FHTIEs or THE Dis STRICT.
ftROM 4 sTATF CORRESPONDENT or TuE ffintSEl
HELENA. Mont. Sept. s.-Of all the gold mines
in Montana mono has been more widely or favor
ably known th,sa the Penobscot, in the Silver CF'rK
or sremple District. The FIRST valuable placers
fouud IN Northern Montana were discovered on
Silver Creek. abont fifteen miles northwest of
Helena. and silver City was place Of considerable
inheritance even before e claim had been staAed
ont o the present site of the territorial capital
silver Greek has its in tine main range OF te
Rocky Mountains. not very far from The summit.
aud the " pay sfreaks" along the bed and banks Oi
the stream for n distance Of seven or elght nnes
we're long ago washed ont. OF late years lew
men, each securing the titles 10 . mum Der of adj
Joining placer claims, have been working over some
OF tine eau,r ground every season. and realize a
small but steady income which is likely to con-
time ~ long as they live. One firm. for instance,
c0nslsiin. Of two men. owns a mile or more OF tine
cuich. They have good ranch near BY, On which
they RAISE some grain. hly and vegetables they
pasture a few hundred head Of cattle on the neigh
boring hills, ANA during tho Spring and early SUM-
mer. when waferis plenty. they wash out 5000
or $4,000 worth Of gold. FRUGAL temperate. simple
in their habits they arc If course, getting rien, and
their income from their pacers is iust about as
certain as though they had money invested in
United states bonds. At their present rate they
will not exhaust their ground in fly years to come.
Following mp this little stream ID is source aud
climbing by means of zcz:gs the sides If a steep
ard rocky n0rnt;s,n, with scenery as W'id ana
romantic as much If that which il so much adj
nirel in tnc White Non o. The Ca'ssilis' ]
finally came out upon the summit. smooth, grassy
and free from timber. Here, at IN elevation OF
$500 feet one may catch q glimpse OF the Missouri
River elI,rcniDg IN the morning sun. and without;
moving from the spot. tIac. also the course Of q
hide creek whose waier, find their way INTO the
Columbia. The views from this point Oh the back
bone OF the continent are the grauaesi have seea
n Montana. 10 thr -orth and west ior iiftY miles
mountain rises above mountain ia mai site gran
d nj. Mount Powell. more than 10000 ieet hiei,
oyertnppina ali. and some with patches Of SNOW in
the rorges ON their Sizes. Many Of those noua-
tain- are covered with heavy growth oi timber,
bur interpreted among them age those smooth.
Handicapped bills 50 characteristic OF Montana.
watch afford rich feed for stock lo ihcir sum-
nis. On tine north and east sides oi the range the
broad valley OF tie Great Prcky Pear River is
almost hidden by ihc SPURS oi tlo great divide and
The curvag line ~ the Belt Range. uese aia t-ose
where -mpses of tho lowiAads ap obtained over
the rocky hills the brorni.!i yellow o. TIE valley
g. beautifully Telcvel by the dark green oi tae cot-
fop~oois along the streams and cine brisa. s,l.en
color Of the harvest fields.
Hero, ON TIE very summit OF the main range, is
the discovery slaf of the s4owint Miue, OF
Which the famous p,l.h-.o5 ID an extension, and
here stands t'a. remarkable ,ohin OF which the old
oar,piv-makcrs usd 20 tell rs ia orr buyhood
days, whose roof divides !Ie rainfall. ole-naii
finding i,s way 20 the Atlantic AMI onc-lall 60 tie
Pacific The discovery OF this mine, or rather tie
discovery of the rich streak iu 30. WIS rather r1-
mantle IN 1876 M. Nathan S. Ycstal. an oil pros
pcctor and miner ia Montana, ON whom fortune had
refused TO smile bought out tle original o,l.ors of
the mine. then very lit,ie developed Erecting "a
small ara ira nm ,uich two Or tnlee miles down the
eastern slope Of he mountains wiicrc he could get
good fall Of water to turn bis great overshot wheel
ID. 40 once began 30 test his Ores The rims OF ,h.s
ar,stra and of the LITTLE fiy..stamp water-mH in
which Mr. Yestel aftcrward crushed The ores of the
Pcnobscot are as picturesque rs those of any old
Gi.manlled mill which have eyer seen in the East
ar south. The tall, narrow water-Dheel twenty-five
feet in diameter, never protected from h- weather.
s.ill stands b. the hillside mououless The Hume
which supplied II with motive power is dried and
warped by tbe sun. Part OF the machinery of the
mill has been removed, and part lies scattered on
the ground The cabins of the worhmen are fall
ing to decay. ard about the whole place there is IN
air of solitude that is oppressive.
Mr.. yeste did not at first meet with much en-
couragement. Tor year he could not pay ex-
penses, and even the few wOrkmen whom he en-
ployed were unable to obtain their wages The
ore was found in considerable quantities, INIT was
not rich enough 20 make the mining and milling OF
it profitable with tine machinery the owner then
possessed. Late IN 1877 some prospectors who
hoped TO fad an extension OF the PenobscOt lode
asked permission OF Mr. Vestei 20 sinl. small shafts
~ ilfrnt IN pr,rrf IN orIar ff.at fb.v
might determine the general direction of the VEIN.
Their request granted aud several hundred
feet east of Mr.. YestePs workings, within the
boundaries Of his property, they struck ut the very
griss-rOots a large body Of exceedingly rich ore.
just ut the close of 1877 q new shaft begun at
this point, and 1t soon proved that the vein if
teen feet wide, and grew richer as it went down.
In December of that year Mr.. Veste was 81, 900 in
debt with very little prospect of being able TO pay.
On the 14th OF the following February he cleaned
mp and brought to town gold bar worth 500 600.
This cleared of his debts and gave him his mine
and Sl3, 900 to start with as a working capital. In
about six months there taken from the first
sixty feet of that shaft about $l25,000 worth Of
zold one single brick, the product of the mine for
thirty days in February aud March, 1875 being
worth $4,000 81. small lots of the yielded as
high rs 81 900 to II, 300 to a ton In the Summer
of 1873 Mr.. Vestel sold the mine to Mr.. VIM. b.
Fruc, of Detroit for S225.0O0 and all the bullion
IT should produce until payment was made. The pur
chaser organized a stock company, of which he is
himself the president and some of the shares were
sold in New-York mt their Par value of 81, the
nominal value of the property being $500. 900.
Since the company was formed no
dividends have been paid, / believe. the
product of the mine having been spent in
development and in improvements on the property
which have cost more than $4,000. The com
pany will begin to pay dividends next January, and
after that expects to keep them up regularly.
The top Of the mountain. on which the Penobscot
VEN Is situated is capped with slate, which at the