New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-08-26

COMPANY.
rha tory of the discovery and development
8 Tho Bassicl mine, near Rosita, Col, Is
,o,d N letter from staff correspondent
g Tur TRIBUNE, The ore is remarkably
~ and is apparently of a similar origin to
.hot founl in the BullDomin 20. The best
80 IN the mine has been opened uD since
.or;l and il ASSAYS from 500 10 $3.50 ton.
= Is estimated that the profits on thirty tons
Of ore are over So, 400. The owners of the
mine now hold SIX mining claims town site
and three mill sites.
.sTORY OF GOOD LUCK AND SHREWDNESs.
rur DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT OF TIE BAs-
SICK MIxU-CHARACTER OF THE ORA VISIT
10 Tr4F BAssICK-PROFEssOR NEvDERRYs
THEORIES CONFIRMED.
tysouA STAFF CORRESPONDENT OF THE rRIRUNE.l
PosrTa Colorado. July 2S.-In June, 1877, Mr..
T & Blssick who had wandered ont into the
mining regions of the Rocky Mountains from his
old home in Maine had taken contrac TO drive
. +unnel into a mountain about three miles north
NJ Rosita AT a given price per foot. He was one
~ that large class of nomadic prospectOrs who
have unlocked so many of the mineral treasures of
,be West and although he had made a fortune
On Australia once, which he lost, luck had been
AGAINST him in Colorado, and he about as poor
a. man with strength and disposition to work
ever gets in this part of the country. He was
sdovn to bed rock" as the miners say, and was
cecrinr away day after day. under ground. 10
earn enough money TO set him on his feet again.
Tn going to and returning from his work he was
ohlised 10 pass over steep hill about two hundred
feet heh forming a sort Of bench One-thrd of the
nav UP Tyndan Mou7taIn, and often noticed
amonr the loose pieces Of rock that were strewn
nyer its summit and down Its sides peculiar
hooking congomerate formation At first be had
no susucion that it was ore. but after kicking
ueees of IL out of his path many times, he at
length began 10 examine it more closely and To
turn over fragments of II in his hand he walked
oyer the hill. Its very character was such as 10
preyeut a suspicion that il could possibly have
associated with it either of the precious metals.
The rock seemed TO be a mass of pebbles cemented
together with foreign matter; and the only mines
In this country except the Bassick that carry
valnsble ores associated with boulders and
nebhies the Bull DOMINGO at Silver Chf and the
Carbonate at Frisco, Utah, had not then been dis
covered
But the more Mr.. Bassck examined tie rock.
tl NOR. evidences he saw Of the presence Of min
eraI and finally. selecting a small piece that looked
rich be tools t home in bis pocket. with the IN
tent,or OF having ii assaYed. Here q serious dim
cul-v arose. An assay N q new mining camp costs
sev4rsl dollars. and Mr.. Bassick was not only
copId with diligently raise the necessary sun. In
this strait he went TO Mr. Thornton the suporin-
nd.ut of tie Pocahontas or Humboldt mine.
showed lim the fragment Of rock and offered him
ahalf interest IN the discovery If it turned ont 20
be worth anything. if Ar. Thornton would pay for
HAVING the rock assayed. The latter. who had been
apra.r..al miner for many years. and was familiar
witt al the common varieties of ore looked at the
specimei pronounced 1t Of NJ value and declined
10 risk the cost IF an assay upon it.
WONDERFUL ElsULIS FROM TIE FIRST ASSAY.
Finally Mr.. bassck either borrowed the money
or got trusted" for the ASSAY. and was himself SUP
prised at the result lie had only hoped 10 find
silver in the ore but it contained gold IN promising
amounts M Bassick then pTospected the hill
NOR. care fully and found Chat all the hoat tnat Lie
haa seen scattered about Oh the surface had been
brokan from q bunch OF rock, near the summit the
dimensions of which were easily traced, and which
be M once went TO work upon. small quantity
of s,rfqcc rock which lac sent - mill for test
proved to BE worth $50 ton. He then began To
R,iDk" on his claim in earnest, and as be gained
dept. hc found that the ore increased ID rchn'ss
~ at..r mining ont considcrapl bic amount OF rock.
he selected IRON il ten tons which Mir. Thornton
,bin-.,c for him 10 the reduction works with son'
Humboldt ore and tor Win ga the handsome sum o.
60 00, WAS received. From that time onward
Mr. Pa-.i.e's credit was good. TIE put number
Of mn % work in hls shaft. az first hosting MS
ore with whip OF hand windas> and ait,rWard
bv means of a within propelled hy two mules
This. viii, buckets aul the ordinary mining imple
mcnts. was the only machinery Whlch Nj h4>'icA
ever used in his old shaft.
p As fast rs the ore was raised, it was taken TO
sorting house. W here the richest was selected by
persons especially instructed n the business. as
many "a, one hundred Of whom Nj Bass;ck en-
plovel mt one time. Long tables extended around
the walls of this building on the inside, which
were divided into sections three or iour leet
wide by low partitions making them look Ike the
fables IN a toliice upon ich the mail is sorted
The OF, as it came from the mine was placed on
these tables. and men and boys. standing in front.
pekea out the rich pieces of ore sometimes break
Ing Them of from the barren rock and threw them
into ,lcks while that of lower grade was swept on
upon the floor ana atterward deposited on the
waste dump In this way. Mr.. Bassick secured
aud sold between July 81, 1877. and June =, 1879.
Of which accounts have been preserved. 73l tons
Of irs-caSs ore. having an average assay value OF
$50 - per ton. oil "a total value OF SlS6,O0i -.
After Ceducting freight cost OF reduction ana loss
The net receipts for the ore were S145,14I These
figures are taken from the statements which were
preserved Of the value Of the shipped to the re-
dueiion works at Pueblo Denver and Omaha but
Nr Bassck who kept no books, and therefore does
not know exactly how much he did sell
during that period. says that it amounted TO more
than : 100000 Between June and August |,
1879 when the mine came into the possession OF
the present company Nr. Basslck says be SOFA
100000 worth more of ore. In getting TINS irsI-
class ore there were removed from the mine ABOUT
1000 tons of rock that vas not rich enough to
ship bat which tests made by the present company
SHOW 10 have an average assay value OF $50 81 per
ton.
To obtain this remarkable output in so short
time MIR Bassick simply followed his chimney OF
Ore down into the ground, never botherng himself
41o Of