Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1893-09-23
Mining Items.

The Tin Miner says that the stamps and
e other necessary machinery have been
ordered and the mill building is being
enlarged. 1t is expected that the
twenty stamps will be dropping by the
middle of October.
The Parrot smelter at Butte, Mont,
mas been shut down. For nearly ten
years the smelter has been in active
operation, its owners employing G25
men and paving out for labor and GUS
tom ore S225,000 per month. The con-
I dition Of the silver market, and the
necessity of making repairs led to the
shut down.
Placer miners in the Hills are meet
ing with exceptional good luck this
season. One man who is working a
claim near Deadwood' took out over an
ounce and a half Of gold in one day a
short time GO. A large number of men
are placering in the vicinity of Roch-
ford and Mystic, and all claim to be
making good wages. Claims abandoned
years & because they we're not boz
nanzas are now worked with profit, and
many men who would be unable to
find other employment at this time are
making a very satisfactory living.
Clarence L. Lewis, a prominent attor-
ney of Rapid City, paid Custer a visit
Monday, the object of which was the
securing of a thirty days option on the
Minnie May gold property, owned by
Thos. Dixon and Ike Downing. 1t
seems that the Minnie May was bonded
some time ago for $4,000, but the time
ex pired and the sale was not consumat-
ed. The first of this week Mr.. Lewis
partner, J. F. Schrader, telegraphed him
from New York that parties there would
take the property at $4,000, and in
structed him to secure an option on it
for thirty days, in order that the pros
pective purchasers might have time to
visit the Hills and close the deal. As
previously stated Mr.. Lewis came over
to Custer Monday, expecting to get the
option without any difficulty. But
Messrs. Dixon and Downing have placed
Il higher value on their mine and would
> not accept less than $4,000 for it Con-
sequently the deal is of. Before leav-
ing Mr.. Lewis was persuaded to drive
4 out to the Penobscot country and take &
, look at other properties owned by G.. s..
! Johnston, T. +. Mclaughlin and Jas.
McShear. He expressed Amusement at
the character Of the ores and the extent
. of the lodges shown him, and one or
more of the claims would have been Sc
cured for the New York people had the
visible water supply been greater. The
@ present owners ofthese properties know
that there is plenty Of running water
, available, and that with a little labor it
can be concentrated into one body large
g enough to supply the needs ofthe mines
q when in operation. However this had
, not yet been done, and unfortunately
: prevented the sale for a time at least.
y Mr.. Lewis left for the northern Hills by
, the Tuesday morning train.
p THE MAYFLowER GROUP BONDED
| a group ofseven claims, known as the
e Mayfiower Nos. /, ., 3, 4, 5, 6 and Z,
= located about four miles west of Custer
City, was bonded this week to Ohio par
ties, the purchase price as stated in the
bond being in the neighborhood of
/ $4,000. The principal owners of these
properties are j. =. Foran and j. p.
! burst, smaller interests being held by
5 w. A. Smith and B. r. Wood, of Custer,
and Harry Boland, of Rapid City.
! Thousands Of dollars have already been
expended in opening up and following
the several leads, and as a well develop
r ed gold prospect the group of claims is
1 considered one of the best in the South
| ern Hills. The names of the prospec
{ tive purchasers have not been made
t public though it is known that they are
| monied men of Cleveland, Ohio The
conditions Of the bond as stated to a
t CHRoNICLE representative by a gentle.
man who is on the inside, are as follows:
A force of men is to be set at work
f developing the properties by the 10Th of
next month the first payment is 10 be
made November /; the second payment,
January ] the third, March Isl: the
fourth and final one June lst, 1894. The
! deal is bona fde, and there is little
t doubt but that the bonds will be taken
r up and the cash paid over according to
! agreement. While the residents of this
portion ofthe Black Hills country have
/ learned not to count much on transac-
tons ofthis character until all possibility
oftheir falling through is passed, the
prospect in this instance Is very EN-.
c%ouraging, and is only one of many
t straws which indicate that the wind is
+, blowing our way.
PLACE. MINING WITHOUT WATER.
Dawes & Harmon, of Missoula, Mont,
/ have recently perfected a process for
the dry separation of fine gold, admira-
bly, adopted for placer ground that is
distant from sufficient water supply.
By this process the ore or gravel is run
through a crusher and steam dryer, after
which it is dumped into the hopper Of
the separator. Dropping from this. it
strikes a powerful blast of air which
; carries it between two sets of slowly re.
volving heavy copper cylinders, coated
with a sixteenth of an inch of mercury.
These cylinders are placed in two lines
of three each, n above the other, SO
! that the dust, driven by the air blast,
passes between them in a wavelike line.
The ore first strikes a cylinder si.ailar
to the others, but revolving in an OPP
posite direction, which catches the
( coarser gold and the nuggets. TIL n,
: passing between the other cylinders, all
, the gold is caught, however fine, and