The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1886-02-17
The Gold and silver Product OF Mon
tana.

w. A. Clark, the millionaire banker of
Butte City, places the mineral product
Montana from 1862 to 1875, $50 learn
from NE Livingston Enterprise) at $780,
800 900. mostly in gold dust from placers
This product was sent forth in what may
be truly denominated the pioneer age OF
Montana. The gold product of Montana
! is study of which no one tires. One
solitary gulch in Montana has produced
$65, 100000 in placer gold, and the old
tailings in the same gulch are being re-
worked at good profit at the present
time. The mountains of Montana are
ribbed with royal metals, her guIches
are rich in golden nuggets and dust, her
seeming extent of mineral wealth is
endless, as the tourist expert, who has
seen her scores of Drum Lummon, Lex
ingtons, Alices, Anacondas, Granite
Mon Collars, Great Republics,
Greeleys, Black Warriors and other min
eral lodes, will testify. 1t is estimated
that that portion of the United States
now comprised within the boundaries of
Montana-known as Montana-has Civ
en- to the world from her gulches and
lodes, $780, 100000, the larger per cent. of
which is gold-the one kingly metal of
unVarying value in all ages and climes
This wealth has been added to commerce
for the most part by few thousand
dauntless explorers in a region, which,
when Col. w. w. DeLacy of Helena in
'64 issued the first map of Montana, was
1900 miles distant from railways, and until
quite recently 300 miles distant. $l40,-
100000 in placer gold was added to COM
merce when Montana was infested by
saYages and border ruffians.
To the thoughtful and intelligent
student of mineral production, these
facts are pregnant with momentous
interest. If Montana in pioneer days,
before the iron car of civilization crossed
her boundary, produced such fabulous
amounts of gold, surely with the return
of good times, with railroads carrying
capitalists to her mineral belts, with the
additional hundreds of thousands who
will soon people her in quest of the gilt
tering placers, gold and silver leads.
she will for ages pour forth her hum
dreds Of millions more, and develop into
the great mineral Golconda, not of the
United States alone, but of all time.
During the past fall and early winter,
placers have been relocated and discoy-
cred on the Big Hole and other parts of
western Montana, from which goodly
sum of gold dust has been extracted, and
their working promises to re-create one
of the early day furores. From Col
DeLacy's '64 map which hangs before
me as / write, it appears that some of
this placer ground was known at that
time, but hostile savages, inaccessibitity, |
and other attractions elsewhere, have |
prevented its thorough exploration until
the present day. 1t has heretofore |
scarcely been touched, and when it is
explored by thousands of placer miners
in the near future, and we see a thorough |
application of the most improved mod |
ern machinery known to placer mining, |
brought to bear in washing out the shin
ing metal, many a bar of yellow gold |
will Sho1U nm "a tho reault of sucb WORK |
and many millions be yet taken out
from the placers of western Montana.
When her many gulches, creeks and
river beds, rich in gold dust, are fumed
on gigantic scale, as they viii be at no
distant day, the wealth of pioneer days
will again return, and thousands of the
spirits of the past will
appear upon our streets. C. A. c.