The Great Falls leader. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1888-1900, 1889-06-21
RAILROAD TO BARKER AND NEI.
HART CAMPS.

/ D.
The Montana Mining Review, com
menting upon the recent visit of Mr.. j
j. Hill and others to the Belt Mountai,,
mining regions, says:
Last week J. J. Hill president of the Manitoba,
railroad. c. A. Broadwater president of the Mon
tana Central railroad. accompanied by several
other railroad men Of note Including capitalists
engineers and contractors, took trip in carriages
over the country along the line Of the proposed
railroad from Great Falls to the Barker and Net.
mart mining regions In the Belt mountains, ana It
Is SAID now by parties who claim to know the in
ner workings Of the railroad circles, that 1t has
been decided to build the road at once This will
| oe glad ttdtngs to the hundreds Of miners who
have waited long and patiently for the building Of
| this road to their camps.
The construction of this road will omen nm :,
! section OF country for mining purposes that for
years has contributed little or nothing to the
wealth OF Montana, owing to the fact that there
was no means Of getting the ore to market except
oy wagon and this mode Of transportation absorb
ed about all the profits. Now that a railroad is
ABOUT to be built for their accommodation new
llIe Will enter into the mining industry and in n
le" years the belt mountain ranges will be In "A
oiaze OF mining glory and the camps Of Barker,
Neihart. W0lf Creek, YO9O and Middle Fork. form,
virtually one vast mining camp as the network
VI loueS extend from one camp to another In
anticipation OF the building Of the railroad the
owners OF mining claims have held on to them.
though tempting offers have been made for some
OF the prospects,
Ihe whole country abounds III rich deposits Of
gold, silver copper, lead. iron, zinc and lime
stone. Hundreds Of claims have been located
within the past six months and still the good
WORK goes on without any sign Of /. ''let up"
AS 1ar rs real Developments have been made
the ores are generally Of a high grade ana some
specimens OF silver assaying all the way from S12
700 to $4,000 per ton.
lhere ls also report that a large copper smelt-
er Is 10 De built ut Great Falls by an eastern COM
pahy. AZ copper works are put up and placed In
charee OIL competent man-a man who has some
accommodation about him and Is willing to ac-
cord TO copper miners an equal show in the mill
ing OF their ores-the miners will furnish all the
ore that they may need but II 1t is run on the
narrow guase principles Of some smelters, they
Will get little to do from the Neihart Barker con
per fields These are facts, and he who runs can
read, for the handwriting Is on the wall,
Once this road Is completed to the Neihart- Bar
ker camps 1t will not be long In making its way to
the LeWlstOn-Maiden camps This extension of
the road will throw open to development another
rich field OF gold and silver which will add millions
to the money wealth Of the state of Montana,
In addition to all this vast wealth that will be
developed In minerals the proposed railroad will
open up for settlement millions of acres of the
best agricultural lands in the state 1t is fact,
and there is no one who will gainsay it who has
Travelled over that section of country. but that
Northern Montana is the garden spot Of the North
west. Wheat rye, barley, oats, potatoes ETC., are
crops that never fail to yield immense returns
with favorable seasons. This year will be an ex
ception as the snow the past winter was ltQht and
the spring rainfall has amounted to almost moth
ing.
The ranges for cattle, horses and sheep are the
best in the state.
Taking oil the facts into consideration the fl,
ture Of Northern Montana In its mineral wealth
and agricultural advantages are certainly far
ahead OF any other section Of our vast empire Of
mountains and valleys.
The Review congratulates the miners Of North
ern Montana over the fact that the day of their de-
liverance from worse than Egyptian bondage is
near ut hand, and that mo pelt up Utica will
contract their powers"