The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-08-16
A FEW FACTS AND FIGURES

duNlSC ~ " nv ~ P~SS ~fo
question of locating the line of the great thor
oughfare over the Rockies, uses the following
language:
eve have spoken above of the Importance
t., the company of eastward freights. The
effort has been made to use this considera-
ton in behalf of the Pipestone route, the
claim being made that Butte was the one
point to ship bullion to the EsstI 1t would
be difficult to conceive of anything more pre-
posterous. Butte is a single camp, a large
and pi osperous one,i it is true, yielding a heavy
ore product, but comparatively alone. Hell
ena,on the other hand, is the center Of a dog
en- or more mining camps, every one OF when
IS certain to produce in the near future a lar
ger yield of bullion than Butte produces o, IS
likely to produce. This is not a bald asser-
ton; it is a matter of demonstration and rests
upon incontestible facts and figures
We have no desire whatever to lessen the
Importance of Helena in a single particular.
We recognize the fact that it is full OF enter
prising, plucky citizens; that il has within a
radius of 25 miles probably a half dozen
mines that are paying a little more than run
ming expenses, and it deserves all it enjoys.
We would like to see 1t the center of a dozen
railroad systems, and became, what il never
will become, as large a city as Butte will b..
But we do not recognize truth in the state
ment that, using the Her dds langnagr,"i is
the center of a dozen or more mining camps,
every one of which Is certain to produce in
the near future a larger yield of bul ion than
Butte produces or is likely to produce"
Neither does any one else, who has a k"owl-
edge of the output OF the ore in the vicinity
of the two places, believe the Herdtd'$ state
ment. Leaving out the bullion shipments
from Wickes and the Gregory, we defy the
Herald's statistician to show that there has
been as many pounds of silver bullion ship
ped from all the camps within 70 miles OF
Helena for the last ID years as are shipped
from one mine at Butte in one month.
Helena is the outgrowth Of a placer mining
and gold bearing quartz section. Its placer
mines are about exhausted, and its best gold
quartz lHdes are virtually ''played out Work
on the Whi..atci,-U mon was suspended by the
company three or four years ago and the
pumping and hosting machinery on the
Union sold and hauled away. The Park lode
is not being wo ked by the company owning
it, nor is it likely it ever will be. Ten or
twelve years ago there were were 40 stamps
in operation at Unionville and Park City. Al
the present time 10 or Is stamps, running a
month or two in each year, are able TO crush
all the ore that lributers get out.
The Penobscot mine which t
its first working showed great yields has also
failed to respond TO labor, and has been closed
down and its mill and machinery advertised
for sale. The history of gold mining CAMPS
in the west proves them 10 be short lived, aud
what has brfallens others will, III the near fu
ture overtake those now being worked Iii the
vicinity of Helena. We dislike to utter this
opinion, but the truth of history and the reck-
less assertions Of the Herald not only war
rants it but cumpeis us to state it. The Her.
aid has little or no knowledge of Butte and
its minelal resources, and quite as little OF
those of its own vicinity. 1t is probably not
aware that there are more men employed in
the mines of Silver Bow tow nshlp than there
are in all of Lewis and Clarke county, with
Wickes and Ten Mile districts thrown in, amt
that there ale more voters and more assess
able property in the same township than IN
ali of Lewis and Clarke county. These men
are not idle, neither is the property non pro
= ductive. On the contrary labor is IN consl ant
demand and there is 10 place in the terri DRY
where rents are as high. These facts iudl-
cate prosperity and a growing camp; aud yet
it is only in its infancy, but a Hercules i'll
proportions. At its present rate of Increase
in population It will contsin in three year.
$1,000 souls. This estin ate is based upon in
disputable data. AT the present Zine there
are over 24O lode locations that are known Il
contain valuable mines-liot prnspects-but
mines upon which sufficient Developments
have been made to warrant their clas>itica
ton as such. These are all iOcaled i'll Sum
hit Valley district. and, with one or two tx
captions are 100 in length. a few figure
will now sho% that tn lode matter, If PLACED
I in a continuous liue, would make over q
: miles of ali argent iterons ore body. Now let II
enter into a little calculation aud find TIT
> value Of This great deposit. The loles vii
+ average six feet i'll width and will he profit
! ably worked al a dep'h % 5000 feet. Thi
gives 6.4oO, 900. 600 cubic feet OF ore. Count
l ing fifteen cubic 'eet to the ton "
have 432. zoo, 900 tons of ore t.
!" treat. We will now place til
value of the ore at the low rate of So
per ION. h will give us the enormou
e sum of $25, 800. 600. 900. When We get tairl
at work we expect to ship annually bull'o
If the value of SlOO,OO0 G, 900 If tins anti,ls
d shipment shall he kept u it will iequire 81
years to work out the known mites of Til