The Livingston enterprise. [volume] (Livingston, Mont.) 1883-1914, 1885-08-29

with quicksilver which. while the mass
is violently agitated in tubs or pans
picks up every item Of the precious
metal and forms the amalgam of silver
and quicksilver that is afterward settled
and drawn off. The more volatile quick
silver is then driven Off as vapor an0
afterward condensed and the silver cast
into bars. All these various interesting
processes were watched by the Press
gang with intense interest and with in
finite profit to those who had never seen
the like before. 1t should be under
stood that this dry chloridizing process
as it is called, is not applied to free-mill-
ing ores; those that do not contain base
ingredients which require heat to drive
them off are merely crushed, stamped
and treated with quicksilver. After
the examination of the mill the party
was royalty entertained during about
an hour by Mr.. and Mrs. J. K. Clark at
their cottage near the works. From
there the Parrot copper smelter was
visited. This property is largely owned
by Gov. Hauser and A. NJ. Hotter of
Helena. A new process Of refining
copper, introduced by the French in
ventor is now in operation in the smelt-
er. The process is an adaptation of the
Bessemer steel invention to copper. AT
ter smelling, the matte or partially re-
duced ore is heated in furnaces where
blasts of air are forced through the
molten mass. This drives off the im-
purities and produces black copper only
one per cent of which is other than the
purest copper. This new process is said
to be an entire success. The Parrot ore
carries II per cent Of copper and the
capacity Of the snlelter is 800 tons per
day. It is expected to produce this year
100000 pounds of pure copper. From
the Parrot Mr.. Clark escorted us to his
famous Clark's Colusa smelter and con-
centrator which has daily capacity Of
100 tons. A new calcining process is
now being employed in these works
Beside the Colusa and the Moulton Mr..
Clark is the owner of several other
large mining properties. He was origin
ally (and is stilD banker with no in
clination for mining operations but was
in manner forced into the business by
the necessity of relieving mining COM
pany that was in financial straits and
that owed him heavily. Since then he
has become mine operator and has
reached very great wealth. He is still a
young man and is immersed in business
that would quickly wreck the physical
constitution of any person with less vi
tality and less ability and love for work
than he possesses. Not only is he a
shrewd business man: he has bright
mind, singularly courteous manner
with all persons, a love Of society and a
broad public spirit that are rarely COM
bined in the makeup of awealthy man.
The visit to the Colusa ended the set
programme of entertainment at Butte
and the party next morning started up
on their homeward journeys with such
pleasant recollections of the visit and
such high opinions of Butte as will
never be eradicated.
OF Butte, the Silver City," volume
might be profitably written. She is with
out doubt the greatest present mining
camp in the world. 1t is claimed that
her environs she now has a
population Of $1,000 persons but this
may be slight if pardonable exaggera-
ton. But those figures will certainly
be within bounds in a short time for
Butte is growing constantly with the
further development Of her mines. I'm
less appearances are grossly deceptive
she has not nearly touched the climax of
her prosperity. When it is remembered
that few of her most productive mines
have been developed to greater depth
than 500 feet, that only a small fraction
Of her most prosperous looking lodes
are yet being extensively worked, that
those in operation show no signs of ex-
haustion or deterioration of the quality |
Of the ore in the lowest workings-when
these facts are considered it may be
presumed that this city Of
mines and mills and smelters is almost |
> dwarf compared with the growth she
is to attain. In 1884 Butte added $16,-
100000 to the wealth Of the country;
her production this year is expected to
reach $2O,OOO,O0O. AS railroad station
Butte paid $5,OOO,OOO to the Utah Il
Northern in 1885 and with her off
spring, Anaconda, contributed one
;enth of the gross revenues of the
Union Pacific system. Butte is now
shipping 1900 tons Of freight per week.
The city now has fine business blocks
md public ediices and more are being
added at rapid rate. Except for the
crowded condition of the streets and
he general appearance Of rushing
activity there is little of the look OF a
mining camp about the city itself
nothing ephemeral. Her people are
very enterprising as well as hospitable.
They have the "boss" mining camp and