, 1889-06-20

the main ore dump lies. The mill NAV be
started up toward the last of next week
AT any rate Mr.. Pearson thinks II will he
started hy one week from Monday. The
lower tunnel, or tunnel M 3, has not vet
reached ore, but the indications ure very
favorable. From the middle tunnel. No
2, Hreat deal or ore is being taken out
va tnis dump there Is not less than 1000
tonD. In the trst raise there Ia spven f,.t
| solid of the best galena that has bsen
found In the mine. ln the upper tunnel
NO. L, there is five feet of csrbonutes
though this Is not being worked lust now.
WORK on the San Francisco has never
iailea 70 irprove 1t. In general the mine
~ looking first rate.
THE FIRST OUNCE.
J.. The Helena Independent SAYS: P.W.
meadow, who 10 now visiting Helena.
ana VINO. owing to the handsome fortune
0rouRht to him by the sale Of the Spotted
Horse mine. has riches enough to end his
DAYS In comfort and ease. claims the dis
tingulshed honor of being the frat man
that took an ounce Of gold out of the
placer digEings of Montana. He does not
claim to have been the discoverer of the
yellow metal, but says be was the tirst
person. together with A. s. Blake, at
present u rancner in the Bitter Root val.
ley. 10 engage in placer mining. Others
had found ''colors,' but had not worked
the gravel In sluice bokes. To an Inde-
pendert reporter Mr.. Meadow related the
following interesting history.
"YOu know that where we are now was
at one time Washington territory, after
wards Idaho. | passed through Prickly
Pear Valley in 1861 Montana was then
part OF ldaho. In our party was mig"
Graham, Frank Warden. q Mr.. Fisk of
Oregon. n MIR. Fuquay OF Kentucky, and ].
Bryan. Where Helena stands to-day we
killed many buffalo; this place was then q
hunter Q paradise; we proceeded to Fort
Owings, where | met Mr, Blake, and with
him returned and landed in Pioneer Rulch,
four miles above Gold creek. | discovered
gold there, and We at once hewed out
lot of timber. built sluice hoxes and went
to mining. 1t was there took out the
first ounce Of gold the territory of Mon.
tana, that Is now, had produced. We
only worked the gulch, and up TO the
spring # 1865 cleaned UP $1,000 worth of
gold; We lost the pay streak aud thinking
there was no more gold around there |
traded the claim off for mule. Ii was
there let n fortune slip through INV
hands. MIR. Bratton, we'll known to old.
timers, got possession Of the mine in 1865.
la the bar just u few yards above the old
claim Bratton sunk hole in the ground,
and before he got through cleaned up a
know the bar was rich, and when the
gulch gave out we deserted the claim for
an old worn-out mule.
NEW DISCOVERY
John Blackburn returned Thursday at
ternoon from the latest mining excite.
ment near the lutte town of Cabinet, in
k NNtpnaI c0nnfv tho Nnrfharn GO
railroad and about sixteen miles east of
Hope. Mr.. Blackburn went over there a
few weeks ago and from him we learn
something of the discovery Of this great
ledge and some Of its characteristics. The
first claim was located there last April BY
Wash Cbilds, but he really discovered the
ledge many years ago while taking pack
train through that country. He noticed
the peculiar formation Of the ledge, which
could be distinctly traced for long dis
tance. At that time it was too remote
from the railroad to be of any value, but
w lash never forgot II. About two years
ago he and Mr.. Blackburn made arrange
ments to go over ther, but the latter
gentleman was taken sick and the trio
was given up. Last April Cbilds went
over alone aud shortly after he wrote to
Mr.. Blackburn to come. The result is
that after staying there a couple of weeks
he returns with fine lot of specimen, and
greatly enthused over the new camp.
Several distict lodges have been discov-
cred In the vicinity, but the main one
crops out just across the Clarke's Fork
river from the railroad and is easily fol-
lowed in northerly direction for two
miles. No development work has yet
been done, and the specimens exhibited
are taken from the surface. IL is evident
that the rock runs high in copper. Every
pieceis heavily sta ined or shows copper py-
rites or oxidi2ed copper, with an occa-
sional beautiful speci men of peacock cop
per. The groupings also carry considera.
BILE silver and some gold. The ledge is
about twenty feet wide. MIR. Blackburn
and his partners, Wash Childs and X. X.
CoIwell, OF this city, have six locations.
He will probably return Id about a mon h.
ON PLACER CREEK.
Compared with other localities Placer
creek has received but little work. That
/, will be u good mining field no one ques.
tionl, but 1T will take time and money to
develop it. Many who are familiar with
the lodges crossing that creek are thor.
oughly confident that with depth they
will yield rich ore. On the South Fork
pros pectors and investors bave looked for
galena. Anything showing lead and sill.
yer has been easily handled. Aud this
has many times been explained that the
first ore discovered was galena, and it was
soon demonstrated that it existed in
large quantities aud was profitable to
mine. And to this day very little money
has been brought into the country from
the sale OF any other than lead ore. No
quantity OF galena has been unearthed or
Placer creek. The section gives promise
of being good producer of silver, and
copper may some time be mined there in
paying quantities. The belt of mineral
which has been worked rather extensively
from two In seven n, ea uast of Wallace