The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1894-03-22
SOUTH DAKOTA NEWS
a REVIVAL OF MINING AC'l''''
IN THE HILLS.
sc,,ool Selections on the Crow SreeN I'VE
orvation CanceIed-A question Oh ~"
,be Carse of the Alleged shortage AZ
sioux Falls.
Revival of Mining Activity.

AN Omaha banker is said to ave
nredicted recently that a great mining
boom would sweep over the hii"ins
state. during the latter part Oh !nG
plc nj year. that millions o. SaPi.a'
wo. be invested. towns pun up
thousands attracted to the MINING re-
oion,. tJwnsite schemes hoated anu d
nneriod of reckless speculation lo4lo"'
winding up with the inevitable Il
ton. His reasoning is that tAe par
tial restoration of confidence aiter the
financial disaster last year have leit
large amount Of money idle. when
viii naturally seek investment ana
that mining is the most probable chan
mel of Investment. People in the
Mack Hills will naturally hope that
the prediction may be realized. ...,
\ revival Ct interest in the Hin.
seems probable. The third cycle OF
activity will soon be due. The in tai
one was that which followed the dis
coyery of gold in Deadwood Gulch.
and the second was IL lsso-SO, when
the railways first entered the region,
and The third Is perhaps now at hand.
That greater strides have not been
made il the development of the region
/, a matter of wonder. With some IL
~lustrations of successful gold mining as
..Homestake" and Golden Reward
properties in the northern hills. and
the ~. r." and "keystone III the
southern hills, it is strange that more
money i, not invested in thu, industry.
The great volume of low grade ore
which can be mined al a profit Is an
established fact. and the present sit
uation is probably due to the failure OF
many ill-considered mining enterprises.
In early days great mines were bullt
before the mines were developed ana
in most instances these plants. lnvOlv-
ing the outlay of large sums OF money.
are now idle. mere ruins. which arouse
the distru,t of investors and retard the
growth of the region. The remote
ness of the hills Is also against them.
Situated as the mines of Colorado are.
contiguous to other mining regions,
the mineral lodges of the Black Hills
would have been much more generally
developed. One of the great needs OF
this region is the presence OF more
practical mining men. Most OF the
successful mines in this country have
been opened by men who acquired
their experience in other regions.
Most of the failures have been made
by "tcndcrfoot" investors.
The recent sensational reports Of the
sudden opening Of a large ave- near
Cascade. in Fali River County. again
calls attention 70 the fact that this
whole region is undermined and honey
combed by limestone caverns. An nm
fortunate steer was the discoverer OF
this new cave. and his carcass wa.
found in the aole which suddenly
opened beneath him. The existence
OF these caves in the nea vicinity OF
the warm springs gives weight to the
accepted theory of their origin. that
they are exhausted watCr courses. and
the passages and chambers now brill
liant with crystals and limestone for,
nations were once geysers. Science
explains their creation by the theory
that the carbonic acid in water enter
ing assures OF the rock slowly eats on,
the limestone. leaving the wonderful
galleries and chambers. There are
several well known caves in the hills.
Tie Crystal Cave. nea Elk Creek sta
ton. became famous through its in
geniOus reproduction beneath the dome
of the Horticultural Building at the
Worlds Fair. y similar min:atu:,
reproduction is also being arranged
for the Antwerp Exposition. There is
also the wind Cave" fourteen mile,
from Hot Springs, the recently discov.
cred ver near Sturgi-. and severa.
smaller ones at different points in thu
hills.