Helena weekly herald., 1881-01-01
Written for the Herald.
SILVER CREEK MINING
DISTRICT.
By WILLIAM MUTH.

The country at the head waters OF Silver
Creek and Piegan and Holmes gulches, on
the eastern slope of the main range, and of
Dog Creek on the western side, commonly
known as the Silver Creek district, is divided
more particularly under the local names of
the Stemple and Ottawa districts (unorgan-
ized).
1t lies about twenty miles from Helena,
and is fast developing mines that will ulti-
mately bring it into the front rank OF Mon
tana's mining camps. The famous yield of
the Penobscot was the first great impetus to
prospecting in the section, and gave heart to
the few hardy prospectors who for years had
been toiling among the hills, and, with barely
the means of existence, were striving against
great difficulties to develope the hidden
wealth of the numerous lodges they had
found. Penobscot's golden store once un-
covered, furnished much of the capital that
built the present mills of the district.
First among the mines comes the Penobscot.
This property has a forty stamp mill. and is
thoroughly equipped i'll every particular.
The working shaft on the mine is now down
400 feet and into granite, at which point the
vein is eight feet in width.
| A short distance from the PenObscot lies
the Bald Butte mine This mine is in pro-
cess of development, and is working ore at
the Mount Pleasant mill with highly salts
| factory results, and the coming spring will
undoubtedly find machinery for twenty
stamp mill on the ground.
| Next come the Hickey and Blue Bird
mines at Mount Pleasant, equipped with I
! ten stamp mill, which is kept busy working
ore from these mines and the Bald Butte. Al
Mount Pleasant we find also Il number q
leads in various stages Of development, many
Of them promising good returns for the worl
done on them.
/ At Whipporwill, work is going on i'll botl
the Whipporwill and Northern Light. Very
good ore is being taken from both OF thest
properties, but the ten-stamp mill belonging
to the Whipporwill has been closed down fol
theseason, owing to the extreme cold weather
and the difficulty of transporting ore from
the mine to the mill
The GlOster mine has been bought by
Eastern capitalists, and the company is now
knswn as the Boston & Montana Gold and
Silrer Mining Company. A forty-stamp mill
will be erected OH this property in the early
sping, and under the able management OF
Messrs. METRE and Childs the success of the
company is assured Close at hand to this
mine lie many very promising prospects, and
a hundred stamps could readily be kept busy
onpaying ore at this one point.
Next in order comes the Belmont, fast be-
coming known as q bonanza in fact. The
thirty stamp mill is kept busy, and vast re
serves of ore lie ready for extraction in the
mne Belmont has proven second to no gold
nine in the district, and in equipment and
natural advantages Of location, is first of all.
i Last of the working and producing mines,
bat by no means least, we will mention the
Irum Lomond, the property of Thos Cruise.
This is silver mine, and is developed by q
shaft nearly 100 feet deep and by tunnel
which cuts the vein at 1S5 feet. The vein B
sixty feet in width, and large portion Of t
i very high grade free milling silver orr,
With gold enough to bring the valne of the
/ nlli0n produced to about equal parts of god
and silver. The mill consists Of five stampt
hat will be largely increased during the next
sason. An extension Of this lead is being
developed by shaft, and promises to in
crease the wealth Of the district and to ada
samps to the number now running.