The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-08-10

eSaglI SfS7S F-SsI
CRIPPLE CREEK.
ried TO Bull Hill, where the Infatuated
union men held the fort; with foremen OF
mines; with railroad men-in short, with
all sorts and conditions-and what is the
concensus of opinion That the trouble is
not over; that the fires are smoldering
yet, liable to break forth at any moment
and envelop the richest gold district in
the country in a confagration that Will
shock the world.
Omens of Trouble.
stood by the foreman of the Strong
mine as he turned the windlass to let the
first men down into the shaft to begin the
repairs which the wreckcrs' dynamite had
made necessary. He turned his sunburned
face toward me as / asked, $50 you re 60
ing to work again2"
Yes he said, though God knows
for how long"
That's Just it. No one knows for how
long this enforced quiet viii prevail. The
settlement which Governor Waite patched
up seems to strike everybody as a tempo
rary affair, and it is thought that when
lnt MILITARY IOTCcS GIc NllHu4dNu lIOuDIC
may again begin.
And what pity! For God never made
a fairer country country teeming and
bursting with ore; where gold lies almost
at grass roots; where the average depth
of striking is only 90 feet; where scenery
so sublime as to be appalling overwhelms
and delights the visitor; where a rail
road opened within the last fortnight
brings new possibilities. And these two
amazing camps-Cripple Creek and Vic
tor-rivals already the latter only six
months old, where they have all the mod
ern Improvements, including electric
lights and the Salvation Army. The rapid
growth staggers the eastern visitor accus-
toned to moro conventional propagation.
How to Get There.
How to reach these places? In the east
there is only the vague knowledge that
they are somewhere" in the mountains
of Colorado little indefinite in this
state of enormous proportions. You may
stage it from Colorado Springs and Canon
City, or go from Florence on the Denver
and Rio Grande railroad, via Florence and
Cripple Creek railroad. This road, just
completed, might appropriately be termed
the ''coFkscrew route" so devious are its
windings up the mountains TO an altitude
OF 9, 400 feet. Past tumbling torrents,
over frightful trestles and through rock
walled canyons creeps the train, the scenery
a constantly varying and enchanting pan
Drama.
The underlay of the country is granite,
cut by fractures filled with lava OF various
kinds, which has in many places over
flowed and capped the granite. The min
eraliZation occurs along these fractures
and along the bikes and in quartz veins.
The latter are often greatly decomposed
and highly mineralized. The mineral
bearing veins are found throughout the
district and are of varying character and
size. There are not, as III many other
camps, merely one or two great mineral
belts, but there are any quantity of smaller
assures and lodes. dividing the wealth Of
gold into many channels. There is only
one mine in Grippe Creek that produces
any silver, and that not in great quantity.
There are 90 mines which are constant
shippers and five times as many on which
development work is progressing. The
ores found vary from few dollars TO
thousands in value to the ton. but the
greater part are of medium grade.
Some of the Famous Mines.
The Anna Lee is one of the largest pro-
ducers, having since September produced
over 1928, COO The Victor is another large
producer. II is in the phenomenal is
sure of the district, phenomenal on ac-
count of its smallncss, crookcdness and
richness. In places the walls are barely
an inch apart, and the windinCs are past
description The main shaft j. $50 feet
deep, and there are five levels. The stock
OF the Victor company sells at the rate Of
$500. 600
The Portland Is good paying property
and boasts the distinction Of having been
the only mine in the district to stand
pat through the strike and not shut
down. The men We're paid union wages
and worked on the eight hour system. I
am told they symPaJhized with the sJrik-
Crs, and whenever a horde Of deputy sher-
IFS were seen approaching Victor, the
whistles OF the Portland sounded a note
of warning 10 Fort Dean on Bull Hill
The Independent l. another famous
mine. owned by one man, who is a char
acter in this nsighborhood. and who snaps
his fingers at stock companies. preierriHC
70 enjoy his fortune by himself. BIZ
StraJJon was carpenter and builder who
was laughed AT by everybody as vision
AIRY who wasted time locating claims
Bill i doing the laughing now on an in
come Of $1,000 a day His mine i a7Dro-
priately named, and his ambition j. 10 be
come the Prince Of Battle Mountain.
The Town and the People.
50 much for the country and district
Now for the town and the people. Three
years ago Cripple Greek was q wilderness.
The first house built was a ranChman' :
log hut. Today in the town and vicinity
there are AZ least $1,000 people. L J. .
typical mining camp As I write l luok
out on the main street. There j 3 wheel
~ fortune spinning on the corner wonder.
ragoons, EanciIng rooms. MIRO n8nSs and
dancehouses arr in full blast. The street .
Is thronEed with miners, prospectOrs, pro
motors, capitalists, railroad men, stage
drivers, toUEhs. gamblers and blacklsEs-
There Is not = ChinamaH or IN Italian ii
the camp
Not allowed. " said . miner U me last
nicnT, wiJn q wicked look "a his eyes I.
which suggested q gun" - my iInagina- Z
ton
The most popular preacher in town was .
formerly a cowcoy 81 lie Is st.u rounding
l.