The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-02-10
$1,OOO,O 900 BY FREIGHT
A BIG SHIPMENT OF RICH GOLD ORE
UNDER A SHOTGUN GUARD.
Most Valuable Consignment Ever
Sent by One Train-The Failures
and Successes of the Owner.

correspondence OF tne sunday journal.
DENVER. Col. Feb. THE record
for the greatest single shipment of
gold ore ever sent in one train to the
smeftery has been won by w. S. STRAIT
ton- 1t was the largest single consign-
ment Of gold in it's crude state that has
ever been made in this or any other
country. There was a million Of gold
in ordinary freight cars. with no guard
in sight to look after the treasure, III
il any bold road agent had attempted
to take a sack or two of the precious
metal from the cars that stood on the
side track with their doors wide open
he would have discovered tina there
were three men in each car. each with
a pair of the dreaded sawed-off shot
guns that are recognized as the most
deadly weapons at close quarters. This
was the shotgun guard hired for the
purpose of protecting the most valuable
consignment Of ore that has come to
this market at one time. Each man
was selected for the purpose Of stand
ing to his guns. no matter what hap
pened. whether it was a wreck or an
attack from robbers. They were fight
ers from the back districts, and many
of them had seen service in the Wells
Fargo on the overland trail
In the early days when white robbers
contended with red freebooters for SUI
premacy in the matter of ferocity. Some
of them had been imported for the oc-
casion from the Pacific coast, where
for many years they had sat on the
box of the stage and were tried and
true as steel to the men who had en-
gagged them for their nerve and fight
ing qualities. A brace of revolvers
completed their armament. but there
was no ostentatious display of the fact
that they were there for a purpose.
They were a modest lot Of fellows, who
did not yearn for the blood of their
enemies.
A stranger not knowing the nature
Of the shipment, peering through the
open doors. would not have detected
any signs of life in the interior. He
would have seen perhaps a hundred or
more sacks that might have contained
potatoes. Had he fingered at the door
long enough to become accustomed to
the gloom he would have caught sight
Of several pairs of vigilant eyes keep
ing close watch of his every movement.
A stray sunbeam from chinks in the
side of the car might also have revealed
the CLINT of gun barrels leveled at the
entrance.
NO ONE KNEW ABOUT IT.
Not a soul suspected the truth as the
ponderous engine puffed it's
way toward the smeltery. Box cars are
common enough In that section, and the
only subject of comment was the ap-
pearance of the road engine in that
vicinity doing the duty that is usually
discharged by the switching crew. The
runners had come in direct from their
night ride from Cripple Creek with or
ders to go through to the smelling works
and not uncouple from the six box cars
until they were transferred to the keep
ing of the smelter and the railroad had
a receipt for the largo.
The ore once behind the walls of the
fortlike smelling works. the owner
could rest with the certainty of seeing
his ore converted into specie within a
reasonable time.
Altogether the train represented 1873
tons of ore. About one-half of this was
stored in sacks for safer transmission,
and the lower grades were packed away
in the bottom of the cars. reasonably
safe from prying eyes and tree from
the disturbing hands of q
Nevertheless the loose ore was not
by any means what is technically known
as low grade ore. for the assayers ap-
praisal of the entire lot allowed for an.
average value of $4,000 a ton. Some
of the rough looking rock ran as high
as $40. 900, and the lowest did not go
less thar $500. 1t is impossible to ascer-
tain the exact worth of the Shipment,
for that will only come with the final
returns from the Smelter after the ore
is mixed with other metals and reduced
fn the treasury basis,
Single specimens are highly priced
for their merit as ana the
owner of the stuff has spent several
thousand dollars in distributing sam
ples to friends in the East Some OF
these curios are worth $40 a pound.
This rich ore is in the form OF syl-
vanite, which is found in the lowest
depth of the Cripple Creek formation.
surface in the Independence mine.
Stratton says the Independence is the
greatest body of gold ore uncovered IN
the world. In its levels, 1T is asserted,
there are at least $o.000.o00 READY 10 De
taken out and converted into bullion
as soon as the whim of the owner al
lows the shipment of more than the
present ratio of three carloads a day.
OF course the. daily shipments are not
of the same duality or character as
the lot that has lust arrived in Denver,
for that is the accumulation OF at least
six weeks. and represents the result or
the service Of ten ore %sorters. who have
been diligently employed selecting the
finest ore of the mine for this shipment,
which Stratton declared in the middle
of last month was to be the banner
shipment of the world. This had become
q hobby with the former carpenter, and
Stratton's men had been at work night
and day during the six weeks required
to pick out this select ore, and the
camp was kept in profound ignorance
of they were doing. All the ore
hoisted each day was dumped in the ore
chute. and there the experts on ore
would begin in the evening the task of
overilauling the rock and picking out
wha would be classed as bonanza. Be
fore they left for their homes in the
morning the sortings would be lowered
again to the lower levels. and no one
was the wiser.
This course was followed for more
than one reason. In the first place. the
ore stacked away in the drifts was be-
You'd reach of thieves, and idle curios-
ity was not allowed to interfere with
the business of the mine. In his way
Stratton kept his secret. although IL
leaked out that there was a rich syI-
vanite in the new workings, but aside
from this no one had a suspicion that