Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-08-13
CORRESPONDENCE.
Butte, Montana, July 23rd, 1891.


Butte city, it is claimed, is the
largest and most prosperous min
ing camp in the United States, il
not in the world. This statement
is confirmed by all the miners who
have seen the interior of them,
that pretends to know anything
about mineral. The first mining
done about Butte was along the
bed of Silver Bow Creek, which
flows from east to west not more
than 800 yards south of the city
limits. This was late in the fall oil
1868. At this time the creek was
worked for the gold it contained
But after the coarser metal had
been washed from the gravel many
of the miners began to cast about
for the source from which the gold
came, while others dfifted about in
search of new "diggins." During
the spring of 1864 those who stuck
to the "diggins" erected crude
cabins on the present town site
and christened the place Butte
after a large bald hill that stands
just west Of the city limits.
At first there was not much con-
fdence placed in the quartz as
there was no means at hand to ex-
tract the metal proftably. Valu-
able prospects sold for almost
nothing. The Lexington which is
now one Of the greatest gold and
silver producers in the camp, was
once purchased for a $50 horse by
A. J. Davis, and was afterward
sold for 100000 to a French
company. Such is the history of
the Mudopolis or Smokeopolis if
not the Metropolis of the western
mining camps.
Butte has two complete systems
of electric lighting, three street
railway systems, and everything
for health and comfort that eastern
cities enjoy. People east are apt
to think that we cannot get fresh
vegetables, but the Chinese have
a garden within the city limits,
where you can get all kinds of
vegetables nearly as cheap as in
the east, delivered at your door
every morning.
Perhaps the methods employed
in extracting silver, gold and cop
per would be of interest to you,
not residents of mining localities.
The milling ores of Butte are
free SO that they form a
chloride which will amalgamate
without roasting, or else there is
formed sulphide requiring the
agency of heat and salt before it
can be separated. There is vast
body Of free silver ore in the up
per workings of the Butte mines, a
considerable quantity of which is
of too low a grade to be prohtably
extracted. The initial operation
is to pass a Blake Crusher, which
may be described as a heavy cor
rugated hammer, working with a
lateral motion in a heavy trough.
Here it is reduced in size to pieces
rather smaller than an egg. After
passing the crusher the rock is
placed on the drying floor and
heat is applied from beneath. This
causes the moisture to evaporate,
after which it is sailed in the pro-
portion of from three to eight per
cent. depending upon the quality
Of ore. 1t is then placed under
the stamp and crushed. The ore
is by this process thoroughly pub
verified and conveyed to the roast
ers. Here the sulphur is dissipat-
ed by the intense heat. and
chlorine gas generates from the
salt. This effects a chemical
change in the silver Of the ore and
creates a chloride out of what was,
before sulphide of silver. The
crushed ore, after having cooled,
is conveyed to the matchmaking
pan, where it is submerged in
water and rapidly agitated by
machinery. The quicksilver,
which has been previously intro
duced,s collects the minute parti-
cles of silver. The contents of the
tanks are then drawn off into the