The Elk Mountain pilot., 1881-07-21

They both have clearly defined fssure
veins, with three feet pay streaks. and
although the shaft on the former is but
50 feet deep, and on the latter less,
they are turning out ore that mills
away up in the hundreds. The char
acter of the ore is ruby, wire, brittle
and native silver, and assays from
these mines have run up from 81 2, 900
to SIS, 900 per ton. The spec linen
have from the Monte Christie is ex-
ceedingly rich in ruby, or red silver,
from which the camp takes its name,
and will assay probably $1,000 to the
ton. The Bullion King, Forest Queen
and Lead Chief were the bonanza To-
cations. of 79-the first year of dis
covery in this camp-and were each
sold in few weeks, with only to-ft.
prospect hole on them, for over $780,
900. As previously stated they are
now valued at two millions each. In
the same locality are great group of
rich mines which l cannot stop to no.
tlce in particular, such as the Old,
Mexico, Howard Extension, Old
Sheik, independence, Pickwick,
Fourth of July, Staten Island, Silver
Knight, etc. Z. NJ. Harris, Esq,
who is connected with Philadelphia
company, is developing several rich
mines such as the Sandwich, Short,
Milwaukee, etc., and Mr.. Field, a
gentleman who came in here two years
ago, is actually engaged on some
thirty claims in the same locality. The
entire Ruby basin and Ruby noun
tain which lies to the northwest of it,
seems to be literally a solid mass OF
rich mineral.
Turning to the northeast of the
camp, l examined the Venangc
group. which consists of seven claims,
very rich in ruby, wire and native
silver. These are located on Silver
mountain and the company is sackins
ore which will mill run $500 to the
ton. The specimen l have will assay
$4,000.
found Mr.. Burlingame, superin-
tendent of Kansas company, busy
sacking ore at the Micawber mine,
that will run S1oo to the ton; thus
something turned up for Micawber
this time, for he has loft fssure
vein, solid galena, worth b1oo to the
ton.
made the ascent of Elk Mountain
and stood upon its summit, an an ele-
vation Of $4,000 feet above the sea.
Here the view was grand beyond de-
scription. To the north, as far as the
eye could reach, rose peak after peak
in cluster of snow-clan SUBMITS. To
the east lay the summit Of the great
Rocky Range, sixty miles away with
mountains and valleys sunk in the ba
sin between. To the south were the
valleys stretched out in lengthening
distance until the peaks, rising from
less to greater height, eliminated in
the great and lofty ranges of the San
Juan, $50 miles away. To the west
lay the Ute reservation, with its great
plateau and rounded hills and beauti-
full valleys, reaching. off a hundred
miles to Utah. The mountain has
two sheer sides Of 1900 #. in depth,
and it takes not little nerve to ap-
proach the brink and look over; one
feels lightning of the blood as he
gazes down the dizzy height. The
day was perfect, the sun the brightest,
the sky the bluest. While standing
there fire suddenly broke out in the
great valley below. 1t swept into the
timber on the far mountain side with
amazing rapidity, and climbed the tall
pine trees in fash. A hundred acres
were blazing in less than Thirty
minutes. The red and lurld flames
seemed to shoot up hundreds of feet
in height, and the dense volume of
pine smoke rose in column into the
blue vault of heaven to the height of
many thousand feet. About 5000 #.
from where We stood gazing up at the
column, as it 1pse in the sunlight, the
A.