The representative., 1895-04-03
FROM GOVERNOR WAITE.
Very Interesting Letter About the
Mines of Colorado.

To the Editor:
Next week, or the week after, you may
expect the first installment of my article on
state Rights" as connected with the sill
yer question. 1 have just returned from
trip to the Cripple Creek mining district,
where 1 delivered three lectures by invita-
ton of the Miners Union. This district is
gold field, about 7x1O miles in extent, in
the southwest part of Ell Paso county,
about 20 miles southwest of Pixies Peak.
The important mines thus far in the dis
trict are within area of about three
miles square, with Victor near the center.
Within the past five weeks important dis
coveries have been made between Victor
and Altman, in some instances the mineral
being found at the grass roots, and in To-
calities long tramped on, but considered
worthless for ore. OF course, settlers are
rapidly coming in At all the big mines
village grows up with it's shops, groceries,
boarding-houses and saloons, and by sum-
mer these settlements will be almost con-
tinuous through all the valleys and gulches
of the district
Cripple Creek mining district is "a poor
mans camp" that is, the mineral in pay
quantities is often found near the surface.
In some of the mines the veins have been
followed until the tunnels and shafts have
now attained considerable depth, but nearly
all of them commenced by shoveling pay
mineral out of open cuts and near the sur
face. 1t makes a wonderful difference with
miner whether he has to expend from
$25OOO to 100000 before he can hope to
reach pay mineral, or can get almost imme-
aft mr. "a n 10 otnr Pow tic lob
In 1879 Leadville was "a poor mans silver
camp" The silver ore was in carbonate de-
posits near the surface, showing so little
indications of silver before treatment that it
was thrown over the dump of no value.
OF late years known deposits near the sur
face have been exhausted, and for silver
the camp has become deep mining. In gold
a placer is "a poor mans camp" because
the mineral Is found near the surface. In
the sixties" LeadviIe, then called "Calitor-
MIA GulCh.' was placer. Today 1t is both
a gold and silver camp, and both deep min
ing. 1t employs thousands of workmen, and
always WILL but is now requires large capi-
tai to develop its deposits of either silver or
gold The gold field lies north and north
west of the city, up almost to the top of
Mosquito mountain, and the quartz contract
containing gold in paying quantities is on
an average beneath 500 feet of solid por-
phyry. Development is first by the use of
the diamond drill, which bores a two or
two and One-half inch hole In the rock,
bringing at will a core showing the precise
nature of the formation in which it ope-
rates. When the gold bearing rock is struck
the Axe or 6x10 shaft follows.
In the San Juan region gold is found in
paying quantities, notably at Silverton, Tel
luride, and to some extent at Ouray. Breck-
enridge has valuable gold deposits, found
in pockets, and some of the natural spec-
mems are wonderfully beautiful. Clear Creek
al 1r.ir hal fnd
for both gold lodes and placers, AMI ar
rangements are in progress to tn )roughly
wash the bars of the numerous streams of
those counties which as yet have barely
been SKINNED over Boulder county is also
coming to the front with gold In this coun-
ty there is much quartz rock bearing free
gold GunisOn county has three distinct
gold camps. Routh county has extensive
placers, and probably near Hahn's Peak
gold-bearing rock Park county has long
been placer field. The Alma, Fair Play
and Tarryall mining districts have produced
placer gold in paying quantities for the
past 30 years. Within the past few months
gold lodes have been found in Tarryall az
saying way up. The formation of the gold
bearing contact appears to be the same or
nearly so of the Leadville district, only the
vein matter often crops out on the surface,
or is found beneath a few feet, usually five
and 10 feet of broken porphyry. Last week
at Carryall ore was found not over II feet
beneath the surface, which assayed seven
ounces in gold. The rock was a yellowish
decomposed quartz, and showed no indca-
tions Of gold by inspection. In many coun-
ties of the state there are extensive placer
deposits, which heretofore have not been.
considered rich enough to pay for working
with the somewhat primitive placer ma
chinery which has been in use. But with the
new furor for gold new methods and new
machinery are almost daily being invented,
some of them Valuable-nOt Only reducing
the cost of treatment, but saving much OF
the fine gold which escaped under the old
methods.
am confident that the gold yield of Col
Orado for 1894 will not be less than $40, OO0-
OO0 Yours truly, DAVIS H. WAITE.