Delaware gazette and state journal., 1896-01-30
Fonruxns rnnouen nls ZINC nrs.
Golden Opportunities tor Striking 1t liich
LOST by Miner.

An old IIeadville mining man who
passed through the great silver car
Donate boom of 1S78-S1 and il now in
the Black Hills, anticipating similar
wave of mining Investment and wealth
production, tells TO Philadelphia
Times correspondent number of in.
teresting stories OF his experiences in
Colorado.
The biggest mistake ever made, {"
said the genial white haired racon.
teur, was in refusing TO purchase a
half interest in q little fiatiron shaped
piece of ground lying near the famous
Little Pittsburg, the great sand car
Donate deposit, which first made Tabor
rich and famous Tho claim was the
merest fraction, its longest side measur-
ing only 45 feet, When the owner offered
me half interest for Sl25 / almost
laughed at him. wasn't up to frac-
tions, you see-wanted whole claim
or nothing. The prospector was hard
up and he finally sold out to Tabor for
next to nothing.
The three-day Senator from Colorado
got S25, 600 out Of this little patch Of
sand and gravel. That man Tabor
never took hold of anything in Load.
VILE that did not pay. II had bought
the ground the chances are ten to one
that | should never have found the big
chamber OF rich carbonates it con :.
tanned, because tho shaft sunk in
prospecting would have been kept
closely timbered. As it was, the care
lessness Of one OF the men led to the
discovery, The drift under this little
triangle, as in most of the claims, was
made up Of gravel, clay and tale. This
tale rock would stand in the walls of a
shaft for several feet without timber
ing if carefully handled. Well, when
the miners had reached "A depth of
about 40 feet and had left the walls to
stand or fail in for 10 or 12 feet, one of
the party, while clearing up the work
for timbering, struck his pick too
vigorously into one side of the shaft
and great slab Of tale loosened by
moisture slid down with thud, re-
yealed one OF the richest deposits OF
cnrbonates ever discovered about Lead
Willie. II this chance stroke had not
shown the ore ITS more than probable
that Tabor would have sunk a couple
of hundred feet without finding any
thing. In the ordinary affairs OF ife
luck Is myth, but in mining it often
proves positive factor.
That was not my only mischance at
Leadville. / did some geographical
mining when / first went there in the
fall of 1878, Ritchie had taken Tabor e
quarter of beef, bacon, -four and gro
ceries- Tabor kent little grocery then
and grub-staked miners. lie had gone
up into the hills some months before.
He found the Pittsburg, and | was one
of the early arrivals, while the boom
was gaining impetus. Little was known
of the nature Of tho formation, its
geology was problematic then, though
the glacial deposit theory has since
then been generally accepted. |
reasoned that boat.shaped piece of
ground surrounded by such rich claims
as the Pittsburg, Chrysolite, Vulture
and other producers ought to catch the
beds of argentiferous sand somewhere,
and SO bought an interest in un-
developed ground purely because OF
Its location. The venture proved dis
astrous. | sunk shafts on all parts Of
the ground, one to depth of $50 feet.
without securing more than promising
float. Three beds of what might be
termed silver placer were capped with
iron carbonates; they laid just below
the rimrock ON the terraces Of California
Gulch, and this iron rock was regarded
as an almost certain indication. One
| day we came upon some broken masses
OF this capping- float and began to feel
rich. We laughed at an offer of $50. 600,
considered it in the nature of an in
suit. The next day we were through
the float, and never saw sign OF il
| again. Those alterations of hope and
dependency, normal state of mind in
| speculative mining, are. l suppose, re-
sponsible for the abundance of my gray
| hairs.
1.-The most beaten, disappointed and
disgusted lot OF people ever in Califor
MIA were, | believe, the partners in the
Law property, when the Levi Y.
Letter interest secured possession oI
the mine and gathered up something
like 500, 600 worth Of rich carbonateH,
which we had mined and ready to haul
TO the smelter 1t was a question oi
the right to follow deposit acrosE
side lines.
Judge Miller had decided that
owners must contine their underground
workings to the side lines of thei,
claims in test case arising on the
Pittsburg Hill. Tho law now recognizes
| tho right Of the discnverer Of lode tc
follow it into adjoining ground, but
the decisions wero then conflicting.
The famous iron silver ground joined
tho side lines of the Law, our property.
Tho Iron Silver people had pushed
their drift until it broke into the
workings upon our ground. They were
taking out thousands daily and we
knew they would claim tho right ID
follow their lead. We were not sure
that the decision made would protect
our side lines, as the formation was
not blanket or fiat deposit, and SC
prepared for the worst.
"Only the richest rock was mined
for several days and we hail barricaded
the drift connecting the two proper
ties. A big lrishman with rifle was
stationed to guard the approach and
warn off intruders When everything
was ready we arranged to remove the
ore at night to avoid the possibility Of
/ an injunction. On the night chosen
we reached the shaft quietly, men and
owners were lowered into the workings
and everything looked favorable for the
enterprise. But we we're not permitted
to rob our own mine, and thus save the
rich ore Our Irish Horatius had
abandoned his brigde The barricade
was down, the ore gone and the drift
in tho possession of the Iron Silver
forces. We were betrayed, beaten and
utterly cast down. We made no use.
less demonstration, but retired as
quietly as we had come. The fellow
who sold us out was never seen in
Leadville again, and ] have always adj
mired his good judgment in deciding up.
on an immediate change of residence. =
Use OF Mumers.
The muller, though it has it's uses,
| ...-.... ....-.....I-.L .'