Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1893-09-30
A MINING PROPERTY
Which Fairly Represents the Great
Wealth of the Southern Hills.

i nepreeeDLb the Urea
| Wealth Of the Southern Hills.
F., On Monday Of this week represen.
alive Of the CHRONICLE had the pleasur,
Of going through several of the numer
GUS workings on the Bonanza, Spotted
Leopard, Sentinel and Recovered golC
claims, a group lying about four miles
northwest Of Custer, and owned by III
q. Butterield, of this city. The claims
were located by the present owner some
ten or twelve years ago, and each
summer season he has faithfully worked
out the assessment, expending thou
sands of dollars in cash and labor, until
now he has mining property, not a
mere prospect, which ranks with the
best in the southern Hills. and which is
bound to bring him comfortable for
tune at day not far distant. The four
n 'S>.as 10 On TIA -u.as mia OF tho prominent
divide which rises between Custer City
and the fertile valleys Of the western
portion Of the county, and for distance
of mile or more may be easily follow
ed the groupings Of the massive lodge Of
quartz which extends along the range, a
veritable mineral vertebre or backbone
Of that section Of country. On the
Bonanza lode the ledge has been cut by
a twenty five foot shaft, and weeks and
months of toll have laid bare solid
wall Of CLASSY quartz, six feet in width,
and dipping westward and downward
for distance that may only be judged
by its mighty proportions and the
character Of the formation. The large
quantity of ore from this lead, which
lies on the dump, is plentifully sprinkled
with free gold, but it is in three distinct
gold bearing tellurides which the ore
carries that it has its greatest richness.
They are telluride of lead, telluride Of
bismuth and the third, the name of
which we were unable 10 learn. Samples
Of this ore, which were selected with
a view to obtaining fair average of the
exposed portion Of the ore body, have
been carefully tested by Mr.. Miller, the
3. & NJ. mining expert, and the pro-
fessor Of chemistry Of the Lincoln Uni
yersity, and in every instance the re-
turns have been highly satisfactory.
We have the exact results OF a number
of the assays at hand, but for excellent
reasons refrain from publishing them at
this time, and suffice it to say that the
lowest report ever made was three
fourths Of an ounce Of gold to the ton,
and from that up TO a high figure which
would hardly be credited by any one
who does not know just what the prop
erty is. The shaft mentioned as tapping
the main ledge is hardly large enough
to be satisfactory, and this year Mr..
Buttertield has been engaged in sinking
another short distance further west of
ihGnaiiia ihGn aiA on. ap4 S2p .shss. ssns la4s thaG hG
forty feet, and numerous streaks of
quartz which have been encountered in
the last few days strongly indicate that
the ledge will be found only a few feet
below The Bonanza has been devel-
oped with the most gratifying results,
but the other claims in the group are
covered with the entrances TO shafts
and tunnels in which veins or smaller
leads of formation Identical with the
main one have been found. Among the
more important of these wo. kings are
two shafts, one sixty and the other forty
feet deep, and fifty foot tunnel, all on
the Spotted Leopard lode. The two
shafs have cut four foot body Of the
quartz carrying the tellurides, and there
is no doubt that here also the main
ledge can be reached with little addi'
tional difficulty and expense. East o.
this group of mines, and down the
mountain a half or three quarters Of
mile Mr.. Butterield owns a splendid
mill site and French creek water right
The mill site could not be improved
upon the supply of water is plentiful
at all seasons of the year, and the value
of the property is thereby material!
enhanced II is needless for US to re
iterate that this mining property is
valuable one, one Of the very best il
the country That it is 80, is we'll known
to the old and experienced miners ant
prospectors of this region, and to tn
experts wto have tested the ore. Il
past years the difficulty that has stoo
in the way of its successful operation
has been the doubt concerning tn
proper treatment of refractory ores, an
that difficulty is no longer held insul
mountable. The problem must and wi
be solved, and in this day and age {
the world when the facilities of man ar
only limited by his needs, we can nc
have long to wait. And then the hid
sey- wealth of the Southern Hills, c
which the above is only fair reE
resentativs, will yield itself to tn
worthy pioneers whose faith has bee
as firm as the mountains upon which
has been fixed. and who have followe
q hope, which though springing etern'
in the human breast, has some time
seemed but q forlorn one.