, 1890-08-07
THE KOOTENAI ORES.
A Montreal Mans impress
sion of the Country.
IT is VERY RICH IN SILVER.
The Need of Shelters and Trans
portation Facilities 20 Make
Y. the Ores Available.

Mr.. w. II. Lynch hands the RE
VIEW copy of the Montreal Ga
xette containing the following:
WARM SPRINGS, KooTENA
LAKE, b. c., July 14.-Our CAM
was moved so rapidly from Sproa
10 Nelson, and from Nelson here
that there was little opportunity o
writing of the country through
which we passed. AS we shall re
turn more slowly l shall be able Il
write more fully of Nelson and the
mines In Its vicinity later on. Dur
ing the past week have visited oil
the mines near this place and have
iound much to surprise ,as well as in
terest me. Silver was found here
many years ago, but only three
years have elapsed since ore of any
great value was discovered. Now
there are at least thirty claims upon
which work has been done and
which promise good returns. The
ore from there runs all the way
from 80 to 1,5OO ounces of silver
to the ton; even the ores of the low
est grade are valuable, as they are
easily smelted and are rich in lead.
Atpresent none of the ore taken from
these mines Is smelted In Canada
and the cost OF shipment-$30 per
tOn--to the nearest smclter In the
United States Is so great that none
but the richest ores are taken from
the mines at all. AT one which l
visited yesterday q huge pile OF ore
was being sorted and only that
which would carry above 200 ounces
of silver to the ton of ore was being
made ready for shipment. 1t
is broken into small pieces,
put into sacks holding about 100
pounds, packed on horses to
the steamboat landing, carried
by boat about 100 miles to
Bonner's Ferry on the Kootenai
river, then over rough wagon road
80 miles to the Northern Pacific rail-
way and so to Helena, where exor-
bitant prices are paid for smelling 1t.
The miners here are nearly all from
the United States and without
exception agree that these mines are
the richest they have ever seen.
And yet there IL no prospect of
smelter this year. At most of the
mines only as much work is
being done as Is required to
hold them, as the owners are not
willing to sacrifice time and money
In getting out ore which must be
sorted and sent out of the country
before anything can be got for II.
Only those who require money for
running expenses do this. Many of
the miners feel discouraged, as alb
solutely nothing is being done this
year to help them with the excep-
tion of a $4,000 grant from the Brit
isli Columbia government for O
wagon road, which will be hardly
enough to build road from the
waters edge to the nearest mine,
and yet none of them ever think of
abandoning their claims. All are
satisfied that smelter will soon be
built, and all have such faith in the
richness and extent of the mineral
deposits In this vicinity that not
man among them would leave 1t.
Ab3ut "a year ago DIR. Dawson, of
the geological survey, examined the
claims that had then been
opened up at that time, and wrote
OF them, "Should only small
proportion of the numerous claims
prove eventually to be as valuable as
many of them now appear to be, the
output of ore can not fail to become
very considerable within few
years" Several of the claims that
have been since discovered have
proved to be far more richer than
any that had been worked at the
time this was written. / have only
spoken of the silver contained in
these mines, but In many of them
lead will prove the more valuable.
This ia especially the case at the
Hendryx camp on the opposite side
of the lake where the ore is of low
rade as regards silver, but very rich
In lend; one lode that is covered by
three claims is 900 feet In length,
has an average width of II feet, and
Is shown by cross-cut section that
has been made to or nearly 100 feet
in depth. AT many of the mines
on this side of the lake shafts
have been sunk to various depths,
from fifty to 200 feet, and every
new shaft has proved anew the i'm
mense quantity and value of the
ore deposits, and there has been lit
tie or no Specializing in connection
with any of the mines. Most of |
them are owned by the original dis
coverers; a few have been sold, but |
the discoverer generally retains an
interest In his find. AS the claims
now being worked vary in height 30
greatly, some being less than 1000 |
feet above the lake and the Others |
more than 1900, while the greater
number are between the two ex-
tremes, it would seem as IL the
whole mountain were IA mass of sill
yer. When one looks at the amount |
Of ore that at the present moment
lies uncovered II seems incredible |
that more Is not being done to de-
velop these mines, but nothing can
be done until smelter has been
erected, or better and cheaper means
of transport are given the miners.
AT the steamboat landing quite "A
little town Is growing up, the old
name of "Hot Springs" being
changed to Ainsworth on the man
OF the townsite. The springs from
which the first mining camp To-
Gated here took its name are not
nearly 80 large as those on Upper
Arrow lake, and i do not know
that they are of any medicinal
value, although the miners claim
that the water Is very eilicacious in
bad cases Of rheumatism and kin
dred diseases. The water is slightly
saline, its temperature being 1i2
degrees.
While there are between 200 and
BOO men working at and near this
place there is no postoilice, nor are