Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1890-07-05
TILE PEORIA MINES.

On Wednesday last, III company
with ]. A. Sour, the writer visited the
new mining camp opened three weeks
ago about ten miles southeast of BaX-
ter Springs on the eastern portion OF
the Peoria reserve, 1. T., and what Is
now known as the Peoria mines. The
mines aud town are situated in q
beautiful little valley OH either side OF
Warren's branch which at present is
perfectly dry for considerable dis
lance on either side of where the
mines have been begun. We found
Messrs. w. ii. Horror and j. p. Nc
Naughton of the Peoria mining COM
pany ready and willing TO show us
through the mines which they did in
most satisfactory way.
AS all great undertakings require
time for their maturity or perfection
so with these mines. Scarcely three
weeks have been spent in an effort to
transform q barren wilderness into u
live mining camp and village and
Judging from the appearance OF the
camp at present we think the effort
has been very successful. Aboutthir-
ty shafts have been started, most OF
which were begun right in hard flint
boulders on the surface and of course
in these the sinking must necessarily
he slow and difficult. In others SHOW
cling dirt ten to twelve feet deep was
gone through before rock was found.
The shafts cover an area of nearly a
half mile up and down the creek by a
quarter mile wide and the character
of the rock in all Of them at depth Of
fifteen To eighteen feet is unusually
and remarkably uniform. The first
mineral was taken out on the south
side of huge cliff Of flint rock now
known as the tunnel, where the lead
of zinc ore may be plainly seen. About
200 yards cast of this is where the
greatest find yet has been made in the
shaft of Smith & Rowe at depth Of
seventeen feet. Several hundred
pounds of first class jack in large and
small pieces have been taken out OF
this shaft and the prospect is an ex-
ceedingly fine one. The only lead
found ut Peoria as yet was taken out
of shaft about 100 yards south and
across the creek from the Smith-Rowc
shaft. This was found at about tif-
teen feet deep and consisted of few
little pockets of rich cube lead ore.
Every Shaft in the camp fifteen feet
deep is turning out rock and dirt
which in developed mining regions
would be taken as a certain indication
Of a mineral find in very few feet.
We believe that within the next two
weeks enough mineral will be found
in the several shafts to create an cX-
element equal TO if not greater than
that caused by the unheard Of finds in
the Galena district in 1877. So far as
surface indications and outward APP
pearances go the lands about Peoria
excel any we have ever seen.
As to the leases and terms TO pros.
pectors we believe they are fully
as liberal as are given elsewhere
and We have no hesitancy in
saying that had we a few hundred
dollars TO invest we know of no place
where We could put them with u bet
ter prospect for large aud certain re-
turns than in the Peoria mines. TO
be sure it is out of the way, off the
railroad, etc., but we are certain that
If good mineral is developed there in
the next two weeks-and we are quite
sure it will be-a railroad will be
pushed into the place before snow
flies to carry the mineral to the smelt-
ers. Though the number Of pro'pec-
tors was somewhat less than we ex-
pected TO see at work, the general
indications were much richer than we
had hoped TO find and one couscien-
tious old gentleman of much expert
ence as u miner told us he believed
that in the course of few months or
a year this tract of land comprising
10000 acres in all, held by lease by the
Peoria mining company, would pre-