The Philipsburg mail. [volume] (Philipsburg, Mont.) 1887-current, 1888-11-01
AUSTRALIANS MINES.
A CONst0ck Miners Visit to the
Broken Idsll District.

M1rtin Cafferata, who left VIRGINIA
! New, on May q last for the Broken Hi
Timing District in New South Wales
returned few days since, and has re
Enterprise representative:
Il made short stay at Sydney" eaie
S'r. afferata, land reached Broker
Hill on the Goth OF july. l found every
thing very English at both places, from
tie people to the dog-cart-a substitute
for our buggy.
II stayed at Broken Hill, which is
rolling, dusty country, seven davs, anc
while there met Mr.. Patton and >:r
Harper, who expressed great surprise or
seeing me. l was shown by those
gentlemen the Australian system O
mining, and l must say it is ;.in;sin.
to a ComstccA miner. Their shafts are
nothing more than rabbit or dog-holes
but Messrs. Patton and Harper are nov
introducing the siuare~set or Comstoch
method. which is such an improvement
over the tree-branch and loose-dirt
tinbering that people there are thunder
struck with admiration. The Comstocl
lantern for miners is also looked upon as
another great improvement.
"Ihe Broken Hill mine may be regard.
ed as occupying the same relative posi-.
ton in its district as the Con. Cal. and
Va. does on the Comstock. 1t has about
half dozen shafts, the deepest not be-
ing more than 400 feet. The miners &C
down on ladders, the cages being SC
ssnall-only capable Of carving two
.men-that it would DO an endless task
for them TO lowor and hoist the i2OJ lie 4
employed by the company.
mir. Patton told me that It would
take time to thoroughly introduce the
Co;nstock system, but he expected to
have everything running smoothly IN
twelve months.
with regard to wages. Boys are paid
four si;lll;ngs day for sorting rock on
top; miners receive ten sh,iiip.s and
engineers ana carpenters eleven shillings
per day. There is no Saturday after
noon or Sunday work.
Most Of the miners live in teEts and
board themselves. as board and lodging
in the few hotels costs $50 to S35 a
month.
''lLe town is so well supplied With
saloons that no further licenses will be
granted at present.
'.Ihe water is brought into town IN
carts from a distance OF thirty miles,
and costs about $50 per 100 gallons.
Great dependence is placed upon the
rain, the houses being so constructed
that but little water escapes from the
roofs. For mining purposes the water
pumped from the mines is utilized. bat
very little is raised. The town is full OF
dams and reservoirs, which, think, has
a bad effect upon tie health of the
people.
50 tons day, are running at full blast,
and the construction of others is con-
tetnplated shortly.
'Since the advent Of 1ir. Patton the
Broken Hill mine has paid better than
ever before, and the owners have re-
ceived greater returns, notwithstanding 3
the extraordinary expense incurred in
the purchase and erection Of improved
machinery, and the stockholders are
delighted with the new deal and the
grand results assured IN the future.
Mr.. Patton told me-" said Mr.. CAT
ferata, that il 1 found any CT the
t.omstock miners anxious to go out
there he would like to have them do so;
but for their own sake said he, tell
them that they had better stay where
they are, as we havn't enough water III
the camp to keep an American clean
:'Mr Harper makes out the weekly re-
port of the mine and has the Implicit
confidence Of the officers OF the company:
in fact, the owners of the mine seem to
know so little about their property that
Mr.. Patton and Mr.. Harper are looked
to for everything. Mr.. Harper is known
as Captain Harper.
"a peculiar characteristic Of the people
here is the hand sinking business You
can't look pleasantly at any stranger
you may meet on the street without him
making a rush ct you and grabbing you
bv the hand. Among the mining officials
this little peculiarly is even more pro
nounced. Harper is a strcng man, but
with bis left hand, his right being in 1
sling.
O. he Harper family were living in a
building a nice residence for them.
1.-The grub is very ordinary-nono OF
your fresh California fruits and vege.
tables; no trout from Lake Tahoe OF
oysters on the ha!f-sheil; no Nevada
beef. but plenty OF Australian mutt on
land kangaroo three times day. Alr
Harper SAID he was getting tired OF
mutton and kangaroo and often thought
ct the juicy steaks bis fellow miners
were enjo;ing on the cnstocS.
TRANSPORTATION facilities arc very bad
During my stay there lAr. Patton had
some twenty trucks OF timber waltlns at
Port Pere, fifty miles away, and couldn't
get them sent or. Ee was sadly III neeC
of the tinbers and wired repeatedly !cl
them, but the only answer he got from
the railroad officials was that the trucks
could not be sect rs they had no chains
to make the tiinbe1s fast to them. They
are the sleepicst lot OF railroad people
you could find, probably, in the whole
civilized world.
Fuel is the greatest item OF expense
at the mines. coke being the prlnclL;:
article in that line used. The coke i
brought from New South Wales, and
costs when delivered $50 a ten. II is es
tilnated that the various mining
companies pay for this commodity &c
less than S., coo year.
There are many other little items
which can't at present think OF, that
might be Of interest to our boys al
home, but the above l believe, WI!
suffice for tho present"
The town of Runsey has, up to the
present, been devoid of saloons owing tC