Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-03-19

Il WE&Vy a. that metal which prom.
~fNNEA ise to astonish the
.ASV-~ world with their pro-
SnG dnctiveness and per-
haps to reduce the
market value Of the precious substance itself.
The silver output Of this country is growing
steadily grester-it was more than sI0.OOo.oOO
last year-and it is realized that the
argsntiferous regions of the vest have
but begun to be drawn upon Bo-
nsnzas of fabulous treasure remain
yet to be discovered, of which a mere sugges-
zion il afforded BY the recent finds of gigantic
ere masses at Creede and Aspen. One OF these.
called the Molly Gibson mine, has yielded rock
worth s12, 600 ton A single car load produced
&15. 600 STAR reporter a few mornings ago
saw . chunk of it At the Office of the geological
survey. Silver composed one-hah Of the mass,
mixed with arsenic and sntimony--a rare COM
binstion- Working in this kind OF stun Is al
most like digging for wealth in the vaults of
the treasury at Washington A pocket in the
"Park Regent" at Aspen, as big as a good sized
room, struck nine weeks ago. held Sl0o,oo
NATURES PROCESS
The processes by which nature forms such ac-
foundations Of silver are very interesting 1t
must be remembered that the earth's crust is
full of water. which Percolates everywhere
through the rock, making solutions Of elements
obtained frem them. These chemical solutions
take up small particles of the precious metals
which they find scattered here and there. Some
times the solutions In question are hot, the
water having got so far down as to be set
boiling by the internal heat Of the globe. Then
they rushed upward. picking up the bits Of
metal they go. Naturally. heat assists the
performance OF this operation. Now and then
the streams thus formed, perpetually flowing
hlther and thither below ground. pass through
cracks or cavities in the rocks, where they de-
posit their loads of silver. This is kept up for
Q great length Of time, perhaps thousands Of
years, until the assure or pocket is filled up
Crannies permeating the stony mass in every
direction may become filled with the metal. or
occasionally chamber may be stored tuh Of
II, as il a myriad hands were fetching the treas
ure from all sides and hiding away a future
bonanza for some lucky prospector to dis
cover.
VARIOUS COMBINATIONS.
The silver is not deposited in pure state,
however, but in combination with sulphur,
arsenic or other minerals, depending upon
whether the original solution sulphide Of
silver, arsenide of SILVER, OF what not FIRE.
quently it is found together with lead and sui
phur, because lead has the peculiar property
Of being able TO dissolve silver. This is the
case with the ores at Creole, which are IN
enormous masses of rock that we're thrown by
volcanic action out of the interior of the earth
thousands Of years ago. So wonderfully rich
are they that the stuff dug out is sent crude to
the mills without sorting and yields often thou
sands of dollars a ton. When it is considered
that Is cubic feet weigh a ton it will
be perceived how great the profit is in the
working of such material. Here and there
chunks of the pure metal are found, where the
other elements have been dissolved out of it by
the action of the water, leaving what looks Like
silver moss.
THE AssaIING
Of 9 bit Of this sulphide of lead ore is a very
simple and pretty process A little cup of
porous clay is made and into it is put the speci
men to be tested Heat is applied to M cit the
latter. when the lead runs into the pores of the
clay cup, leaving . button Of pure silver be-
hind At a certain point in the performance
there occurs a sudden Frightening of the silver
button. which miners call the 'blick," and it is
at this moment that the operation must
be brought to q close, lest some Of the
metal be volatilized and lost In smelt-
ing the ore in bulk the same method is
often employed on a big scale. The clay cup
used is four or five feet across and the silver
baton obtained may be OF several pounds
weight At the last, for the same reason not
well understood. certain gases which have
formed within the metallic mass burst out in
miniature volcanoes, producing remarkable
effect
IN MS NATURAL STATE.
Silver, as it is ordinarily found in nature, is
not pretty to look at, nor has it any glitter.
The rich ore from the Molly Gibson is of a
bluish-gray color and lusterless. There is
plenty Of glitter TO be seen in the silver
caverns. but it is the iron or copper pyrites
mingled with the precious metal that shines
with brilliant crystals. Here and there. too, are
found nests Of quartz crystals, beautiful to the
eve, rs well as amethysts and other shining
stones. usually of no value. Often there
spangies OF free gold in plenty. Much Of the
bullion Of the famous Comstock lode in Nevada
haa dad 49,
The suiphide Of lead or ''gaiena," which forms
most OF the ore at Creede, however, has a
bright luster Of its own
CLEVER TRICK DISCOVERED.
An amusing story is told by the noted geolo-
gist, Clarence King, Of an Investigation which
he made Of an alleged silver mine IN Utah. He
undertook the task at the instance Of certain
capitalists who proposed to buy the property
which was represented to be of enormous
value- Appearances we're certainly very much
In its favor. On the way down the shaft the
walls on every hand CLEANED brightly with
=, shining ore In the light thrown by the lamps
and the sides Of the drifts we're equally beauti-
full 10 the eye Of the observing expert How
ever. while examining the rock more criti-
caiiy, be noticed by chance coarse
thread hanging out of it Ordinarily
threads do not grow in rock, and the finding OF
this one led to the discovery of the whole
ssindle; for the fact was developed that the
Of galena, reduced il TO powder. made ii with
wafer into plaster and carefully succeed the
entire walls Of shaft and drifts with the ma
terial The plaster was carried for this pur-
pose in gunny sacks, . thread from which got
mixed in with it
sALrEp COLORADO NINE
Perhaps even funnier was the sailing Of a
mine In Colorado, which was bought by e1-
Senator Tabor by order from some friends OF
his in Denver. Chicken Bill. q prospector OF
rather disreputable notoriety. did the Job,
performing it successfully that $40. 600 was
paid over to him for the property without any
question He was 50 elated over the transac-
ton a. to be unable to keep the secret, COM
municating il 10 Q number Of intimate friends
In this manner the news reached Denver, and
the people who had employed Tabor as their
agent in the matter refused to receive the
mine So Tabor, finding it left upon his
hands. determined to make the best of the
situation aud proceeded to dig further IN the
hole He pierced the rock ten feet further
and came upon a body Of ore which proved to
be one Of the richest ever found in the state
How MINES Are Sailed
The gulIbility Of persons who buy mines
has passed into proverb. 1t is said that such
h Iii lo> kal ,u,< half