The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-04-15
The Big Undertaking M. H. Keefe
Has on Hand in Colo
RADIO.
a Tunnel That Will Open Rich
Mines and Out Down
Distance.
Two Hundred and Fifty Fissure Veins VIII
BE Cut-Boston Capitalists F'urn-
tshipg the Money.

recent issue of the New York Financial
and Mining Record contains q very inter
esting story of the tunnel that Ia oelhs
driven through the continental divide II
Colorado. 1t is of particular interest II
Helena from the fact that M. K Keefe, tn
contractor on the work, was q resident o.
this CITY, and also because there ~ . pro1ec'
unt7er consideration for a tunnel through
The range that separates Helena from peel
Lodge. If the tunnel in Colorado IS q sue
cesa. the one in Montana will be pushed.
When the Atlantic d Pacific tuntiel was
nroiected in 1880 by Marx NJ. Pomeroy.
who had won something OF political news
paper and literary reputation as 9 speaker,
author and publisher, he thereafter turheu
hia attention to cutting q gateway stralRh'
through a great difficulty; considering inc
Rocky mountains precisely SUCH a dill
entity. He was laughed at, now
aver. not ! little. not because of the lack 81
INV merit in the enterprise, but because ne
dac,ared that he could and would, with the
aid Of the people, accomplish it by oo-opefa-
tive effort and without government ala'
and thus achieve what the French ana 1taA-
ian governments IND the state Of MassA-
chusetts had give snch sums to accomplish
~ the way OF cuttinQ tunnels through ths
AIMS and the Hoosao mountains. steaally
NJ pomerov perseyered in this Work,
investing largely of his own means 80
thus setting al example WHICH 80 no0
been followed BY more than o,ooo investors
Nov more than one-ffth Of me uissancc
through the mountains has been aoooin ,
nlished. and the capital is already pledReo
to accomplish the completion Of me "ofA
for railway purposes.
The tunnel enters the eastern main rahge
OF tho great Rocky mountains 81 9 poin'
abont sixty miles due west from Denv>i'
tn eastern end or beginning is on the A.
Isntic side Of the continental divide, III the
county OF Clear Creek, Colorado about
nine miles south or southwest fron
Georgetown, the county seat OF Clear
Creek county, and is reached by cars now
running over the Colorado branch OF the
Union Pacific railway from Denver to
Graymont, the terminus OF that orahcn'
From Graymont to the eastern end OF the
tunnel the way is up the valley OF Quall
creek. winch at Graymont falls into Clear
creek. From Graynont 20 me east Inousa
: Of the tunnel the distance ls about one ana
one-half miles and the rise is about 5og
fact ia that distance. The tunnel is located
10 ont directly through the main range 81
the Rockies, the Atlantic mouth being at
the base Of Mount Kelso at the attitude
81 10000 feet above sea level. me
distance straight through from the Atlantic
q the Pacific side of the slope on the Con
tinental divide, as determined by surveys
II o.. 600 feet. a trihe less than five miles.
The tunnel is cut through Mount kelso, Oh
through the mountain whose snow-capped
apex is known as Gray's peak; thence
through Ruby mountain, the three noun
tains named forming the Continental dl-
vide. Thus while the Atlantic end Of this
tnnnel is on the Atlantic side of the range
whenne the waters flow eastward, the west
and Of the tunnel is on the Pacific side,
looking out upon the Snake river, the
waters of which flowing westwardly join
tha Rlna river and thence north and west
ward across the great stretch OF country
between the Rocky Mountains west from
Danver. and the Wasatch mountains west
from Salt Lake City. The waters OF Snake
river Joining those of other streams empty
at last into the Colorado: Inc Level OF she
Monnt Kelso is 4,4OO feet below the apex of
~ the use of this tunnel, when completed
and made a gatewpy for railroad traffic, as
aeon will be the case. the railway distance
between Denver and Salt Lake or Ogden,
the COnnSCL1uR pUiuk VI bAC SAA l. ooAHS
and California Central railway systems,
will be shortened at least $50 miles, and a
great area Of rich country, larger than the
state of New York, now without railway
communication Of any kind. will be opened
to settlement, industry, trade and all that
these these things bring as results Of the
emDloyment of capital and labor. About
1000 feet of this tunnel have already been
driven. something more than one mile of
which has been driven on the east side OF
the range, the balance of the work done
being on the west side. as the men are
working toward the center each way. when
completed, this tunnel will be forty feet in
width and twenty high, to allow the laying
OF two standard guage railway tracks to
occupy the center of the tunnel, while on
each side of these will be another track.
making four in all. The side ones are to
be used by the Atlantic-Pacilc Railway
Tunnel company for the purpose of bring
in0 the gold. silver, copper and lead ones
from the great tissure belt vein of Colorado,
throueh which this tunnel is being driven.
This bel. is formed of or includes exceed
ing $50 fssure veins, as shown by out-crops
at the surface. Of these veins twenty
eight have already been cut by those who
have driven the tunnel in from the east
side. and four others have been crossed by
those who are perforating tho mountain
from the west.
Under the mining laws of the United
States. whoever discovers a vein III a noun
tain has the same right thereto us has q
person who discovers Il vein at the surface.
When two claimants shall have brought
their work together at some time IN the
future SO IS to prove that they are on the
same vein, the PRIOR discoverer holds the
property, the other retiros with what he has
taken therefrom. Fifteen hundred feet
along the course OF Il mineral vein con-
s~titutes a mining claim, SO that those who
are driving a tunnel on reaching Il vein
claim 800 feet to the right of the tunnel
and 1,5O0 to the left, thus at once on dis
covery giving them a total Of 5000 feet
along this vein. When they shall haya
drifted into u vein a distance of 1900 feet
therein from the starting point they are
then, under the law, entitled to an extern
sion of 500 more on the same vein; and
when they have reached the end of this
l,5OO feet they can locate another 100 feet
and 80 on ad intinitu1n, in both directions.
Thus it isssthat the discovery of a vein is OF
more importance than most people have
considered.
The Denver, Apex q Western railway, or.
paniZed to complete an air line railway
straight through from Denver to Salt Lake
CITY on the Pacific coast at the best and
nearest possible point, regardless Of noun
tains, has lately agreed with the Atlantic.
Pacific Railway Tunnel company that il
shall have the use of the tunnel for twenty
wears dating from is completion in l89l
and that it will pay the Tunnel compan,
one dollar per head for every paaserge.
coming or going through the tunnel, ant
ffty cents for eyerv ton OF freight passin.
-~- kLe A--~nJ 4hnv fa ~1aru,Fu Al,