The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1895-11-07

The lot is then thoroughly mixed and q
| half bushel or such a matter taken and
crushed to a fine powder and from this
IpulveriZed mass two packages of two
ounces each are carefully weighed and
/ placed in a bag, numbered and marked
! and these samples represent the car
load The assayer then takes the sam
pies and small proportion of
each is carefully carried through the
assay and the average Of the two IS
taken as the basis for settling with the
mine owners for the ore. To a tender
foot, the ochre colored dirt of the gold
bearing ore or the black crumbly mass
of tie silver carbonates have little in
, them to suggest that the precious met
ais are hidden therein. But miners are
digging hundreds of feet under ground,
carefully scraping and brushing this
dirt from the crevices of the rock, some
of it so rich that thieves have been
known to carry away $4,000 worth ia
an express wagon.
Leadville contains many evidences
that it grew during a mining excite
ment. While it has few modern
buildings, for the most part they are
cheap, one story affair, with side walks
set at all kinds of grade. None of the
streets are paved and as it rains or
SHOWS about every other day in the
year, they have about nine months OF
mud hub-deep. Then with the heavy
ore wagons hauling six tom loads over
them they have about as hard q look
ing streets as can be found in the coun'
try. For good many years Leadviile
held the belt for being the toughest
place in the Union. Everything is RUM
pretty wide open now but thGmorality Of
the city is improving they tell us.
Even yet the gambling places and
dance houses are doing the paying
business of the town. 1t is no uncum-
mon thing to find two or three hundred
miners playing at the various gambling
tables in these institutions OH. a night.
Everybody in Leadville is welded to
their idol Free Silver" Phe white
metal was the making of their town and
they live in hopes that some Gay it will
come back into favor and old time pros
perity will return. Fortunes are made
and lost in q mining country with Il
rapid turn of the wheel and the state |
ment is often made that more mooney has
been sunk prospecting for mines than
was ever taken out of the ground, but
it can hardly be true, judging from the
millionaire mine owners to be- found IN
the west 1t is fact however that
since the decline in the price Of silver
the number Of people who have gone
broke is simply wonderful. So many
miners have been thrown cat of en-
ployment that prospecting for new
mines has received greab impetus.
Even the old placer mines which long
ago were thought to be banned out
have been washed over and dirt that
does not pay more than ONE or two
dollars day is now BEING worked
rather than have no work at all. 1t is
among the possibilities THAT another
Cripple Creek may be discovered any
day and many poor mann made rlch'
like w. S. Stratton, who. owns the In
dependence mine ofCrippAe Greek, who.
was carpenter by trade. Three years
ago he walked from Colorado Springs
to Chippewa Creek, o. distance of 3Os
miles, in order to. save, the fare, which
amounted to four dollars. Now he has
an income of 81 200, 600 year.
F. ZEE. Ell.