The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1881-12-28
MONTANA AND BELT PARK.
Some Of the Leads Already Located in
These Promising District.
BY O. O. MORRISON.

This district is situated in the Little Belt
Mountains, Meagher County, Montana, about
twelve miles due south from the town Of
Gold Run. Though still in its infancy, be-
ing only discovered in June, 1881, by Messrs.
hubert, O'Brien and Harley, it has with one
bound placed itself alongside the leading
camps Of the Territory. This is due not on
ly to the large number of locations made,
but also by the true fssure character of the
veins, and high grade ore they produce.
To use the expression of an experienced
expert, who reported on this range this last
fall: 'sThis hole in the ground beats any
thing I have yet seen, read of, or been told
about" And truly, this was no exaggera-
ton. If there had been two or even three
good lodes it would have been al average
good camp, but to my personal knowledge,
twenty-five locations have furnished essays
of over two hundred dollars per ton. Again
there is an unusual continuity in the lodes.
Eight different veins are located for over q
mile and a quarter, and one lode, the
sHomestake" and "Queen of the Hills" has
nineteen locations on it, equalling 28,500
feet, or nearly five and one-half miles, maxi
ing it probably the largest lode ever found.
I nave not the least hesitation in asserting
that the coming season will find this vein To-
Gated clear through to Gold Run. AT the
present time, ninsty-six l~oca,lons have been
made ON the veins running through this dis
trict, though some of the locations (22) are
contained in the limits Of Belt Park District.
These, however, properly come within the
limits Of this paper, as they are the out
growth of the same discovery.
The new camp is situated in a pleasant To-
cation, about one mile southwest from Black
Badly, and the neighborhood is very pictur-
esQue, as it is within four miles Of the main
range. Game abounds in the vicinity, from
a jack-rabbit to an elk, or q chiprnunk to q
grizzly bear. The n%eighboring park fur
nishes the finest grazing in the Territory, and
and the prospects are that it will be speedily
covered with settlements.
The camp is also advantageously situated
as regards roads. Anew road eleven miles
long will place it in communication with the
county seat, put it within IS miles Of the
railroad next July, and also 80 miles of the
Territorial capital; and a new road on the
Dry Fork of Belt, about four miles long, will
place it in communication with the Barker.
Ready access can be had now from Benton,
with light teams to the mouth of Harley
creek, one and one-half miles from camp.
lhe Montana thus has a great advantage
from the start.
The character Of the rocks is essentially
granite, though at Black Badly, and also
near the summit, it is quartzite. The granite
seems to be the most mineral bearing, as
eighteen out of the nineteen veins discovered
are in that formation. From the surface
prospecting that has been done, the sQueen
of the Hills seems to be the centre vein, but
this is liable to revision on development.
This vein, together with the one east Of it
and the four west of II, as yet have furnish
ed the highest assays, and in places they
show ore ehutes Of high grade on the sur
face. Still even these chutes hardly give q
fair idea Of what the mineral will be when
the lodes are developed, as every location
showed increased value with deeper mining.
So that there is q fair prospect that the high
grade ore has not yet been tapped.
There is no live timber il the immediate
vicinity Of the mines, but q boundless supply