, 1889-01-03
NOT AS EASY AS 1T LOOKS.
The Troubles Encountered in Opening Up
n Gold Mine.

Tho Troubles Encountered in Opening Up
n Gold Mine.
Working a gold mine sounds very
nice, but very few people are aware of
the difficulties and expense attending
this operation.
There are plenty of men in this city
who have been 'bittenn in small min
ing schemes and who do not now
understand why they were failures.
1t is a very common thing for some
hopeful prospector to stumble across
Groupings" that show free gold, and
that, from all appearances, could be
worked to advantage with the expen-
diture of a little money.
The first thing the prospector does is
10, think up" some capitalist friend
whom he thinks would be willing to
invest in the enterprise. He then
writes a letter something after this
fashion:
81 have one of the finest PROPOSE
tons you ever heard of. l have dis
covered groupings that indicate the
presence of a ledge eight feet wide and
which l am certain Will be found per-
manent.
1.-The groupings show that the ore
will mill at least s25 per ton. Let us
say then that the ore will only yield
one-half this amount.
This mine (sic) can be worked-that
is, the ore car be mined and milled-
at a minimum cost of So per ton. This
will leave a net profit of, say, IS.
Now the groupings show along the
surface for 200 feet, and are so situated
that a tunnel could be run 200 feet be-
low. There is no doubt that the ore
will hol1 @,,t ~ H. a. ---1 =
run there will be in sight practically
$4,000 tons of ore, which, at So a ton,
will, as you will readily see, yield a
profit of 5000, 00o.
"Au l need is enough money to run
this tunnel. l "a then haul the ore
to a custom mill there is one about a
mile distant, and after that the mine
will pay for itself. Ionly need IS, 900
at tho outside, and if you will put up
this amount you may have a half in
terest in the property"
On paper this is a fine proposition.
A sure fortune for So, 900. The capital
list is caught and up goes his So, 900.
The first thing to be done Is to drive
a tunnel into the solid rock some eight
feet square and a distance of 200 feet.
A double shift of men, say eight, are
hired, also q blacksmith to sharpen the
tools, men to clear away the ground,
etc. This can easily be accomplished
for $50 a day. A house or cabin has
to be built, but this Will only cost some
$500. Powder, tools, timbers, lumber
and provisions will make the first
$1,000, to use a popular expression,
look awful sick"
For the first few days the work pro-
crosses favorably and the capitalist re-
ceives the most encouraging letters
from his mining friend. After that
the letters are less frequent and not
near SO encouraging.
The miners have struck q horse"
This is generally some rock about as
easy to drill through as SO much cast
steel. A hole six inches deep may be
drilled into the rock in about ten hours,
and when the giant powder cartridges
are put into this hole they shoot out as
If from a cannon.
There may be ten feet of this sort of
work, there may be fifty; at any rate
before the difficulty has been over
come some 50, 900 OF more will have
been sunk in the enterprise and the
ground scarcely scratched.
Of course, more money viii be de-
manded, and then still more, until
the capitalist becomes Disguised and
quits the thing altogether. This is
the way it generally works.
Difficulties are notonly encountered
inrunning a tunnel or sinking shaft,
such as the caving in of the work, re-
bellious rock and others too numerous
to mention, but it is often discovered
after the tunnel has been run the de-
sired length that it should have been
run in some other place.
To estimate the actual cost of the
opening up of a mine from the grass
roots" would be a very difficult mat
ter. Under the most favorable cir
c~umstances, however, unless a pocket
or bunch of very rich ore is encoun-
tered, from $50, 600 to SIS, 900 may be
set down as a very close figure to put
a mere prospect" in paying condition.
As much sometimes as 5000, 900 is
spent in opening up a mine before any
money" is taken out. All this refers
merely to those little" mining propo-
sitions or flyers" as they are called,
in which the uninitiated, in the hope
of becoming millionaires on a "dol-
lar" investment, come out in almost
every instance at the small end of the
horn.-New York Herald.
A Sleep Walkers Adventure.