The Elk Mountain pilot., 1880-09-02

si'~ Aae@eiOAdi uCOt, Oul IL Will require
time to open them and a vast amount
of capital to develop them. 1t is esti-
mated by we'll informed persons in
Ruby, that they have from TWENTY-FIVE
to nifty rich mines in the camp, but
why those having such rich prospects
do not put in capital and work them,
and establish reduction works, is a
conundrum that nobody but those d.
rectly interested can tell. If they
have the untold millions that they tell
about-and We believe they have it,
for their mines are not carbonates or
pockets that soon play out-but are
the real true hssure veins, and it seems
that it would certainly be to their in
terest to put in capital and try to de-
velop their mines.
In THE MINES.
There are few people in Colorado,
familiar with its mining history, who
have not heard something Of the cele-
brated silver mine known as the
FOREST QUEEN.
Throughout the Gunnison county
the name is as familiar as household
words. 1t has already made Elk
Mountain famous as a rich mining
region, and it must prove bonanza to
all those fortunate enoughto be inter
'ested In 1t. By invitation we paid a
visit to this pet mine on Thursday
morning. and spent a couple Of hours
OF exploring it and examining the
wealth that, few newspaper men ever
have the pleasure of gazing upon.
we repaired to the mouth Of the tun-
mel, not over a quarter of mile from
the business center of town, and with
a lighted candle il one hand, follow
ing Mike Cowley, the contractor, we
penetrated the tunnel for distance of
100 feet: the tunnel is run between
walls OF solid rock, the vein Of mineral
being about six feet wide, showing
ruby, brittle, wire and native silver.
The owners of the mine are also sink
ing shaf1 north Of the tunnel about
$50 feet, and are now down with it
some sixty feet, the vein showing from
three and a half to four feet Of mineral
of great richness. How soon the
tunnel will be connected with the
maiE. shaft it is impossible to tell, but
we understand the owners contem-
plate pushing the work forward as
fast as possible. Before the junction
can be formed, however, the mineral
now in sight, plainly visible to the
naked eye, to be taken out, will pro-
duce at the lowest calculation, over
TWO MILLION DOLLARS.
The company is now doing its own
work and running three shifts Of hands
day and night. 1t has already spent
over $4,000 in developing the mine,
but enough mineral has been taken out
in the tunnel alone to pay all the ex-
penses of the work and 1t is getting
better every day, choice specimens
assaying as high as $4,000 per ton.
They have already shipped over one
hundred tons Of ore to Denver and
Crested Butte, and still have one hun
dred tons now on the dump.
The capital stock of the Forest
Queen is 81, 900, 900, divided into
shares Of s1oc each. There are nine
owners of the mine: Col. ". Z: Holt,
president; R. W. Woodbury., vice
president; Col. d. c. Dodge, treasur
er; 3. W. Woodward, secretary l..
R. Thompson, superintendent; Geo.
r. Cornwall and Gen. w. J. Palmer,
who comprise the Board of Directors.
The other owners are {. F. Woerish
offer and James Card. The company
expect to put in machinery the com
ing fall, ard will be the first company
in the camp to put in their own ma
chinery and develop their own mine.
They will have 25-horse power boiler
with hosting engine and pump, and
will add to it as fast as the mine is de-
veloped and the enterprise will war
rant. The Forest Queen alone is a
mine OF. such vast wealth and nlagni-
tude that it will insure the future
growth of Irwin; but within two rods
of it is its twin brother known as the
RUBY KING,
which is perhaps nearly as fine a mine
as the Forest Queen. The tunnel in
the latter is now in thirty-fve feet
from which they have made cross
cut of twenty feet from the hanging
wall to the foot wall, and have just
finished sinking a shaft twenty feet in
which mineral of immense richness
has been struck, and it is said to be
improving as fast as progress is made.
It promises to be in every respect
equal in richness to the Forest Queen,
and there is no reason to doubt 1t for
both are really one and the same vein,
being separated only by sclall gulch.
1t may very truly be said that per
son who has been to Irwin and not
visited the Forest Queen and Ruby
King, has not been in Ruby Camp.