Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1894-04-28
Mining Items.

|
The owners Of the New York Mica
mine, recently shut down, are expected
here in short time, when ii is believed
that arrangements will be made to re-
slime operations.
The Cyanide plant was started up at
Deadwood on Tuesday for test run Of
the new machinery. Everything work
ed smoothly, and the plant will very
soon be in permanent operation.
supt. Grier, of the Homestake, was in
conference with delegates from the
Central City Miners union this week,
upon the question Of the resumption of
mining operations on the Caledonia and
Terra mines owned by his company.
The steam hosting works on the Hud-
son group of mines in Nevada gulch,
twned by Messrs. Lewis and Olds. will
!, kaxer down and removed to their
new purchase, the Old Charlie mine,
near Custer City. The work will COM
mence to-day under the direction of
Miiiwright John Chr;stianson.-Time
a.
Hickman & Smith are making fair
progress in their placer shaft on War
rens Gulch, and expect to reach the bed
rock in few days. The gravel shows
fair prospect from the surface down
10 the present workings, and it is ex
pected that coarse gold in quantity will
be found when bed rock has been reach
ed. We earnestly hope their expecta-
tions may be realized.
A new placer mining company, COM
prised Of our fellow townsmen Denny,
Hitch and Willis is making the dirt fly
in all possible directions at the Dansby
diggings at this writing. They are all
miners of more or less experience, prob
ably less, but what they lack in expert
ence they will Offset with muscle. and
they will at least enjoy the exercise, and
We hope, strike the gold galore. Mrs.
Denny will fry fapjacks and have gen.
eral supervision over the culinary de-
partment.
A late Lead City special to the Sioux
Falls Argus, says: The Highland Min
ing company are now having timbers
put on the ground preparatory to adding
forty more stamps TO their one hundred
and twenty stamp mill, the work TO
commence as soon as the weather will
permit. When this is completed this
mill will be equal in size and capacity
to the "Star" Of the Homestake com
pany, which has long been known as
the largest gold stamp mill in the world
This improvement will necessitate an
increased force in the Highland mine
1t is thought by some of the knowing
ones, and indications back up the belief,
that the mines and mill Of the Home
stake company at Terraville will resume
action in short time. These works
heve been closed down nearly a year
and their early resumption would surely
be God send to the country. At the
least calculation three hundred idle men
would find employment"
RICH CONCENTRATES
Fred Meyer has recently had a test
made of the ore concentrates of his
Drum Lummon mine few miles west
of this place. The test showed that the
concentrate contained value of
| s., ,53S IS per ton. There is no scarcity
of ore Of this character in that district,
and the world will not wax much older
before the fact will be far more widely
known than it is at this writing.
FRENCH CREEK PLACERs.
Placer mining is being revived to a
| considerable extent in this vicinity.
There is a fair prospect of large in
crease in the gold output from this
source during the coming season. The
number engaged in the business is
| largely increased, and the presence Of
ample water facilities will have the effect
Of largely increasing our gold product.
This vicinity is probably unequalled in
the extent Of its placers French creek
is marked by an alluvial gravel deposit
of greater extent than can elsewhere be
found in the Hills, every foot of which
is gold bearing. For distance of 40
| miles along this creek the gravel wash is
from quurter to three quarters of a
mile wide, and by the adoption of syst
ematic methods of mining it may all be
worked at profit. While 1t is true
that there no extravagantly rich deposits
| here, such as have rendered famous the
golden gulches of other regions. il is
nevertheless fact that fair wages may
be made in the operation of these
placers by systematic mining methods.
This is now being proven by practical
demonstration on claims now being
worked near this city. where some thing
over $500 per day per man is being
obtained. l, is only question Of time
when many hundreds of men will be
profitably employed iu extracting the
gold from the French creek placers, the
most extensive area Of placer diggings
known to the Black Hills region.
POOR PLACER CAMP.
f.. F. King, writing from a camp on
Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone to the
Deadwood Pioneer, saws: II suppose
there nre some people in your town who
would like to hear from the Spearfsh
party that came here to make fortune.
As regards scenery and climate CIark's
Fork may be all right, but as mining
country IL is total failure. hare been
up the river fifty miles, and for the most
part mining claims are staked of, some
by mistake locating lN acres or more
instead of twenty Bush & Reeves
made 81 so per day on their claim by
shoveling in the box and $40 per day
between them with team and scraper.