Omaha daily bee., 1888-01-06
THIS COUNTRY HAS THE TIN.
A Newer and Possibly a Richer Corn
wall Within the United States.
THE BLACK HILLS DEPOSITS.
What the Fact. If Proven, Will Mean
to the business Interests of
the Country-Some Interest
ing Facts and Figures.

large quantities IN the Black HIS, In
which he and his associates, after most
thorough examination, have the fullest
confidence, Lord Thurlow says in the
London Financial News of recent date:
1t represents the dawn of new era that
can not fail to be most unwclcome TO the
favored and very narrow circle that has
hitherto handled the tin trade of the world.
To my mind, in place of there being anything
strange in this discovery, it is amazing it was
not made before. All other metals have
been discovered on the vast North American
continent under circumstances and in quanti-
ties hitherto unprecedented, and suitable to
the unlimited requirements of the future citi-
zens of the United States Gold, silver, cop
per, iron, and now tin, are required by the
American people and have been placed by
providence ready TO their hands. No power
on earth will make me believe that all the tin
in this world has been placed on one side of
the Atlantic. That tin was not found earlier
in America is due to two circumstances
First, the American miner has only an eye
for the precious metal in prospecting; and,
secondly, this tin region has only quite re-
Gently been made accessible by its exclusion
from the Sioux reservation Till quite lately
the Black Hills of Dakota were sealed book
to the prospector, who could only visit them,
not only with the risk, but with certainly
of being tracked and scalped by red Indians.
Now all this is changed.
ing the tin mines of Dakota
NEITHER ASKS FOR NOR SOLICITS AID
from others outside of the company COM
posed of American and English capital
iste and known as the Harney Peak
company. He says.
1t was taken in hand after very careful in
vestgation by men of business, able and
willing to carry it out without any appeal to
outside investors. These men showed their
t.,t. ,,,, 81
stantial sums of money and 50 far as | know
never authorized any invitations to the pub
lie to subscribe. 1t is IA new and great un-
dertakng that is not likely to be rushed by
the responsible people who have it in hand
We believe in it implicitly, and are not going
to be alarmed by criticism either friendly or
the reverse, and whether due to ignorance or
interested motives.
Phelps, Dodge & Co, of New York are
among the heavy importers of tin to
this country, and are naturally inter-
ested in proclaiming the statement that
there are no tin mines in this country
of sufficient extent to pay for working.
Mr.. Dodge of that firm is reported as
saying:
No doubt there are indications of gas there
but the general impression here is that the
deposit is of no commercial value. The com
pany established something of plant two
years ago, but do not know that any tin was
ever taken out. There have been good
many pockets of tin found in this country, hut
none Cf them has ever paid for working, but
when we do get good mine here there will
be no need TO go to England for capital to de-
velop it,
What Mr.. Dodge and other importers
and dealers in foreign tin 'do not know"
of the existence of tin deposits in this
country of sufficiently large extent to
pay for working would make a respect
able volume. The object of this article
is to enlighten such as really desire ac-
quaintance with the proven facts.
TIN WAS FIRST DISCOVERED
in the Black Hills in June, 1888. Prior
to that time the ore had been we'll
known and mathematical by gold seek
crs, who considered it nuisance. 1t
was know by various local slang names
and generally considered worthless, or
worse, because of it's interference with
the work of prospectors who looked only
for the precious metals. The true char
acter OF this hitherto despised ore was
first ascertained at the date named.
Samples were sent to General John w.
Gashwiller, of San Francisco, who had
them carefully assayed there, after
which he, through his agent, made the
first lode purchase of the Black Hills.
Since that time over three thousand
tin lode locations have been made in the
Black Hills. Thousands of assays have
been made in this country and Europe.
Tons Of the ore have been sent to New
York and to England. One solid chunk
sent to England weighed 4,SO0 pounds.
Many old and experienced miners from
Cornwall have examined the mines and
tested the ores. Many are working on
the claims owned by the Harney Peak
company to-day. Over a million of dol
lars have been expended in the pur-
chase and development of tin claims.
The Harvey Peak company now owns
something over two hundred tin lode
and placer CLAIMS in the Black Hills, to-
gether with water rights. Over $l00,0 900
has been expended for machinery.
Many claims have been patented and APP
plications for patent have been made
for over n hundred more. Not only the
annual assessment work required by the
mining law-$l00 per year on each
claim-has been done, but on some
claims many thousands of dollars have
been expended. For three years the
work has been tentatively experimental.
Since certain English capitalists have
become interested the work has been
most thorough, and yet wholly with
view to ascertain, if possible, the extent
VI Iho uSpoollS' i Hcy occIu W IHlHh
that as the Cornwall mines have been
proftably worked since the days of the
Phenicians-over two thousand years
that it was necessary to find a deposit
which could be protitably worked two or
three thousand years more. The deeper
their diggings aud the more thorough
their investigations, the more extern
sive the deposits are discovered to be.
They now are found in
THREE COUNTIES OF THE BLACK HILLS,
Lawrence, Pennington and Custer, over
an extent Of country in Dakota more
than hundred miles north and south.
There are four organized companies of
capital. One of them is known as the
American Tin company, and is mainly
composed OF New Workers. Its mines,
known as the Nigger Hill mines, are
situated about sixteen miles southwest
of Speariish, in Lawrence county, in the
northern part of the Black Hills. Prof
Carpenter, Of the Dakota school mines,
says OF this mine, in a late report on
the mineralogy and geology of the Black
Hills:
In the northern, or Niger Hill district, as
it is called the best-known claim is the Cleve-
land, owned by the American Tin company
who have sunk a shaft to the depth of l30
feet. At the 100 foot station, where a cross
cut has been driven the vein is found to have
width OF over two hundred feet, and to
carry tin throughout, but zone about thirty