The weekly tribune., 1891-08-08
NOT HILLS BUT MOUNTAINS.
The sweet Grass Hills With Their
Rich and Assorted Mineral
deposits.
Good Placer Claims Extensive Marble
Quarries Gold. Silver, Cop
per and Lead.

IHt 'DNttl NITdSS nluS. Slludlcu On
the northern line of Montana and
about 40 miles from Great Falls,
will at no distant date contribute largely
to the worlds supply Of copper, iron sill
yer and marble The above is no idle
prophecy. 1t is rather the plain state
ments of the facts in case known to
have the firm foundation of truth. Well
defined leads of the minerals named have
already been struck while the amount of
good marble seems to be larger than that
of any of the wcll-known eastern
quarries.
The name Hills is misnomcr for they
are mountains in everything but name.
The government map gives them the title
of Sweet Grass Hills or Three Buttes.
The latter is mo appropriate name,
though it hardly does justice to them.
Whoever starts ont to walk to the sum
NIT Of those lofty peaks will soon come
to the conclusion that the name hills is
rather misleading. 1t is Il dclusion
which disappears with the fleeing breath
Of the climber.
There are three huttcs, as they are
called. the East. Middle and West butte.
and smaller one, the Hay Stack butte,
which indeed resembles gigantic stack
of hay. The East and Middle buttes are
nearly in the same line east and west.
The West butte is several miles north,
part Of its foothills lying ON the Canad
ian side. The buttcs are separated
by valleys and streams and the
general formation is different in each.
As the East Butte is the only one which
has been very extensively prospected
this article will be mainly devoted to it.
The others contain more or less indica-
| tions Of mineral bearing rock, and when
they have been thoroughly prospected
some good leads will undoubtedly be
found.
The hills first came into prominence in
March, 1850, when four adventurous
miners George Walters, Fred Barnes,
Marion Cary, and Henry Hcighty de-
flying the restrictions of the interior de-
partment against mining on an Indian
reservation, struck placer gold in a gulch
near the Middle Butte.
As there was an eclipse Of the sun the
day the strike was made they named the
|
That name has of late been cOntrOvcrted
to 1.-Two Bit" gulch. Soon after the
strike permission to work the ground
was obtained from the federal
authorities and an infant stampede tC
the new diggings commenced. At one
time there was over one hundred men at
Chance gulch had been struck. But
| of he hn
pretty well worked over and most of the
fortune hunters went elsewhere. Early
in the summer of each year since
the discovery when there is any
water several miners wash some of the
ground and make wages. 1t IS impossl
BILE to ascertain how much gold has been
taken out of Eclipse gulch as there was
no way to keep record of it. From all
that can now be learned it is safe to say
the total amount does not exceed 500,
600.
Some placer gold has been taken out Of
Corral creek in the east butte. Larry
Embertson and Ole Alexander are max
ing good wages ground sluicing there
and will work at it the rest of the scasor
if the water holds out
The discovery Qf gold attracted quart,
miners and prospcctors TO the hills bu'
little attempt at active prospecting was
made until the reservation was throw
open in 1887. Since that event the Eas
Butte has been pretty well prOspcctet
and some rich leads Of copper, silver, anC
iron have been found The latter il
found more or less in all Of the leads
There is quite a deposit Of rich copper
called 'pcacock' which carries a goot
percentage of silver.
The formation of the East Butte il
limestone. porphvry, and quartzitc, ano
all leads carry iron. Some of the or,
from the East Butte rivals in richness
the best copper mines in Butte. There
are several well defined iron leads, one it
particular being twenty five feet from
wall to wall. Some iron experts have re-
Gently examined this lead and pronounce
il the best quality of iron to he found ii
Montana. There is an immense deposit
of marble in the East Bnttc in fact t'
look at it one would say good part al
the mountain is made Of that substance
Six hundred and forty acres on the soutl
sid" has been taken up as a marble quar-
nv and u company has been formed t,
operate the same. In short the Eas
Butte contains rs great Il diversity %
| lllllltI dl 'iS van lJ' lbul'' ll'i' 'lS'
in the rocky mountains With work an,
development it is plain that some grca
results will be achieved. None Of tn,
mines are Incorporated yet. Still thai
fact by no means initiates against tn,
district.
The East butte is divided into fou
distinct peaks, the highest, Noun
Brown, rises to the height of $500 fee
above sea level. The other three, Mount
Royal Morrisy and Lebanon, are ncarl.
as high as Mount Brown. Presiden
Hill of the Great Northern, accompanic,
by "A mining expert, visited the Eas
butte last year and it is reported that h'
contemplates building a branch line t.
this new district 1t is only about y
miles from the Pacific extension
The branch could be easily built on 1
maximum grade of one per cent. At NJ
distant date the copper ores from tn,
Sweet Grass will be worked at the Great
Falls smclters. Everything points tina
way. The rich ore is there and onl.
transportation facilities are needed tt
make another mining district tributary
to this city.