The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1892-10-08

ment. Truly it fostered fever of
mining speculation and incidentally there
was some plungers by the buyers and
sellers of such of the stock as was thrown
on the market; but Granite Mountain as
property has always been looked upon
in the light of a solid investment rather
than speculation, and only the purchas-
ers Of the past two years have lost money
on it.
On the other hand, up to 1899, the
fluctuations of the stock were remarka-
BILE. 1t was never depressed, but it had
an cratic way of rising and falling from
$5 to $6 during day-scaring the timid
speculator and profting few shrewd
brokers. James Campbell, Kohn & Co.
and NJ. Kotany have put snug sums away
through their dealings in Granite.
The Granite Mountain mine has proba-
bly, impoverished no one, and it is the
teW who have been enriched. Two for
tnnate purchasers irt 1885 were A. B. Colt.
who bought 10000 shares, and w. Fl.
Waters, whose estate is credited with
10000. This practically exhausts the list
OF big holders. The original owners let
some OF their intimate friends in on the
ground moor in comparatively small
way; pr. McKellups, of this city, is
credited with several thousand, dollars
represented by shares paid in liquidation
Of bill; and it is estimated that some
oo,0O0 shares are distributed in small
blocks. But Of the original owners only
VI. Lionberger, Mr.. Shapleigh, Mr.. War
ren and Mr.. Harrison have parted with
their holdings
The famous Calumet and Hecla COP
per mine is surpassed as dividend payer
BY the Granite Mountain, which began
With a payment Of 10 cents and steadily
increased it to 15, to 20, to 25, and finally
to 5o--dropping again to 20. During
these years the company passed only two
dividends; but in July, 1902, when div
idend Of 20 cents was declared, these
payments ceased
The slump in Granite Mountain is
attributed to two causes-the decline in
the price of silver bullion, already noted,
and the inferior grade of ore at present
yielded by the mine. Last year silver
bullion was quoted at $1.22; it is now
about 81 cents. 1t is said that with bull
lion at 81 the Granite Mountain ore at
present produced could be proftably
mined. The assay Of it's silver now runs
from % to 30 ounces. In the GRANTEES
best days the assay has run as high as
1,S0O, and in 1889 the average was 225.
The company claims it could pay divi-
dends if it wanted to, but prefers to work
all the low grade ore in sight Some of
the staples now standing would assay
400 ounces. More development work is
being done than ever before, and work is
in progress in the 17th level. 1t is be-
lieved that if big ore is struck in II and
in the Cleveland property, the mine will
again become bonanza. The richest
ore was yielded by the levels numbered
6 to II, when the base of the mountain
was reached
Only a small proportion of the com
pany's land has been mined. Four dis
tinct lodes-the Granite. the Isabel. the
Cleveland and the Fred Burr-are COW
cred by Granite Mountain property; and
the big stockholders have not lost faith
and have not relinquished their shares.
Ii the mine RECEIVERS its value it will
be benefit 20 St. Louis, as the homes of
the owners are here. Indeed, the city
already owes to it some of its finest i'm
provements, for the money that put up
the $1,2oo,000 Security building, erected
the Merchants Bridge, and ornamented
the West End with some of its handsom-
est dwellings, was taken from the earth
in Montana. Yet it was the Granite
Mountain, too that gave the local mining
market its tremendous boom, exciting
thirst for gain among thousands formerly
content to seek independence through
toll and self-denial. How many victims
such as these are afflicted by the conta-
gion of a big bonanza is, like the stock
in which they dabble, a matter of specu-
lation. But the average poker player
probably gets more fun and quite as
much profit as the man who pins his
faith to shares in mine