The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1886-07-10

Some Facts Regarding the Op.
GRAFTON of the silver King,
ut 9a tooth.

There is no part Of the grea,
mining and milling enterprises OF
northern Alturas County in which
Ketchum feels a deeper interest
than in that constituted by the
Sawtooth Mining e. Milling Co.,
the Silver King and other compa-
MES at Sawtooth. Their prospect
ty is in a measure our own. The
growth of that camp depends upon
them and the growth of Ketchum
depends upon that of its neighbor-
ing towns. We want to see every
mining and milling industry of
Sawtooth succeed, but we do not
believe that false CELEBRATION, be
made by whomsoever it may, will
result in aught but unfavorablc
conditions under any circum-
stances. The Salt Lake Tribune
of July 9th contains good cor
respondence from that locality with
the exception of the following par
agraph;
"The Silver King has always been
considered as fine property, but
it has been badly managed. Last
year a concentration was placed on
the property at heavy expense and
poor results. The milling ores Of
this district do not appear capable
of being concentrated at a profit.
The concentration is not being oper-
ated this season, but ~ or Is
men are employed taking out ore.
a shipment just made to Kctchum
was of selected ore, which averaged
about 400 ounces silver per ton.
This ore ought to be worked in the
Sawtooth range, and probably will
be when the new superintendent
has been in the country long
enough to learn something about
mining. This thing of Eastern
companies sending men who never
seen mine, to the west to manage
their properties, has been so COM
mon III the past as to mark the
failure of many enterprises which
otherwise would have proven sue
cessful,"
The Silver King has always been
considered fine property but it
has not always been badly man.
aged Mr., MoHenry, the new SUI
perintendent in charge, is one of
those Eastern men" SO carelessly
referred to, but he is an exception
to tho rule, and in the management
of the Silver King and the sale of
her ore there is no fault We be-
lieve in the patronage of home in
dustry and hope to see, some day,
every pound Of ore extracted from
the hills of Sawtooth reduced BY
the Sawtooth Mining and Milling
Co, At present it is not done, and
we presume there are reasons for it.
The lot of ore recently shipped, as
above stated, to the smelters at this |
point is grossly misrepresented by |
the Tribune correspondent. In the
fiji st place it was an AVERAGE lot, |
and in the second place it assayed |
52S ozs. per ton ! The Tribune cor
respondent should use little more ,
care in obtaining his figures on such |
items, as they are sometimes of
great Importance to those interested
in the localities lii question. The /
ores of the Silver King run from
52S to 1000 ounces, besides a con-
siderable amount of gold. The
Ketchum Forwarding House has
contracted to deliver them ali, dur
ing the present season, to the Phil
adelphia smelters ut Ketchum for
SO per ton, and he smelters reduce
them for $50, making a total cost
Of 500 for reduction at this point,
and guarantee saving of 80 per
cent-$25 to $50 more per ton.
Now, let the Tribune correspondent
figure up for himself and he will
find net gain of from $l3 to $3S
per ton by shipment to Ketchum.
Such are the facts. In behalf of
Sawtooth we hope they will not
always be so. and that the sound of
the whistle and stamps will ring
through that berg the glad tidings
Of prosperity.