New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-02-21
CRIPPLE CREEK AS 1T rs
SOME CONSERVATIVE STATEMENTS
ABOUT THE FAMOUS DISTRICT

ACTUAL FIGURES OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
FACILITIES FOR THE TREATMENT OF
oRE-INcoMPETENT EXPERTS AND
MINING WRITER'S.
To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir. In spite of all that has been witt
ten of Cripple Creek for Eastern puo"ca-
ton. the correspondents seem TO nave re-
Trained carefully from giving any clear anu
complete portrayal Of the situation ana char-
acter OF the newest and most important eo'u
camp In Colorado The eyes OF the worio are
unon Crippe Creek" Does 1t merit the interest
It's present inheritance is best expressed Dy tue
fact that this camp has served to place Coioiauo
first in the list Of gold-producing STATES Vi '"e
Union with an output variousiy cohp"'eu ~
from SIS ocO 900 to s20000OOo OF when ABOUT ia'A
comes from Cripple Creek.
Before considering the scientihc ana coi''''e'
ciaI aspects of the district, 1t Will pc OF ihereS
., sLetcb the location and topography ana 10
;r+ ont some of the causes which LED 10 t'
rand development The Cripple creek uie''0'
lies in the southwestern corner OF III ii''
County, Col, the town OF Grippe N'e'h ="
ing almost due southwest OF ana Gisl'"' 49,
ten miles from Pixies Peak. Inc country "'
Seem mountainous in the extreme TO those I'M
for
am,nences are not rugged, their steep, though
uniform ascent severely taxes the endurance Vi
nan Or beast. Cripple Creek lies IN the northwc''
corner Of the acknowledged mineral beit' az d"
altitude Of $500 feet surrounded by higher eieVa-
,,ors Within a radius Of two miles lie. to the
west Mount Pisgah u0400 feeD; to the nortn,
Mineral Hill n01so seeU; to the east Globe HUI
40 400 feeO. and to the southeast Colo mn
no 200 feeD and Bull Mountain Qo,7oO feep. Ou'
NJ the basin thus formed and left open 10 the
south-southwest flows Cripple Creek 10 us june
tion in Helena Canyon. Fremont County WIFI
oil Creek The scenery Is grand and the chi'a'e
ENJOYABLE though the high altitude anu o'"e
causes variously assigned make throat anu ius
troubles ending in pneumonia prevalent III.
o,or,ca death rate for January in the town u
Crinn,e Creek has been about four a day, one
half the number dying from pneumonia
DEVELOPMENT SINCE 1891.
The causes of rapid development since 1871 are
r,incipally two: The proximity and character oi
Colorado Springs and the railroad connexions
early established. 1t was In Colorauo opiine''
from the wealthy visitors there that t"e 80
material aid obtained by proSpecu'lS' ~
was from Colorado Springs. brought there ny
rail from, Denver that the first supplies were
hauled to the new camp, twenty-elght "'i>s NY
CHEYENNE Canyon over the roughest N'''u "
trails II was due to the pioneering energy Oh the
Denver and Rio Grande Railroad that us '"e
was extended under the name Of the Florence
and Cripple Creek Railroad until, IN 1871 direct
rail communication with Denver was established.
1t was then a relatively easy matter 10 prihs III
supplies and machinery Herein has lain the ad-
vantage Of Cripple Creek over other camps by
the early addition Of excellent passenger facl-
haS
,orfunitv for rersonal examination and resulting
confidence.
The influx Of inhabitants has been enormous
during the las: four years. To-day arrivals num-
Ter between two and three hundred day Inc
district now embraces. besides Cripple Creek
40 900 inhabi,ants) and Victor $1,000, the smaher
towns Of Altman. Independence. Giiiet Lawrence
and Grassy. which, with scattered CABINS on 'he
hills bring up tin, total population TO about
OO0o These figures are rough because the hu"-
Der is constantly changing with varying connl-
lions OF matter and interest The staNstics Vi
this camp were compiled by the writer from va
rlous sources and subsequently, revised ana cor
rected from his personal investigation Dy T. T.
McI.authlln. mining expert ana miherdoes'' ~
is a,narent. even TO tn. casual observer, that as
Vet little has really been done toward realizing
the possibilities Of the district The deepest shaft
shafts Of shipping mines however. is much less.
probably about $50 feet or the many thousand
claims patented with reasonable prospects, ore
carving s2j has been found in some quantity on
about 1000 or these 500 are being actively OPP
era,od About twelve are paying over 80 per cent
nroa, four over 400 per cent. Few who are well
acnuainted with conditions here would BE- greatly
SURPRISED 10 see the acknowledged belt double
rs area and the district Its output during 1896
The productions for last year, instead OF being as
generally publ shed S. 100000 was nearly ~ 'oooV'
including all sources. as compared Wlth sSoso"'
in 1894 The Importance OF the camp can there
fore hardly be ovcrestimated. though its present
development is largely exaggerated the nils
are dotted with location holes. In the older parts
Of the camp with the shaft-houses which indi-
cate "produclng mines" BY means all these
are paying mines.
PROSPERITY ONERRATED.
The prosperity Of Cripple Creek is overesti-
mated even by residents and operators. Many
mines are shipping altogether too little ore to pay
for handling the rock necessarily removed They
hope the vein Will widen or the ore grow rcner
y no means all OF the s. 900 900 mined In 1885 was
produced at a profit. and some OF 1t was taken out
at a very heavy loss. There are in the district
about 80 claims shipping ore Of content less than
S25 and 100 less than SIS co. shipping at loss In
order to bear the reputation OF producers. EN-
cept in few mines the methods OF work here
wou,d seem crude to the critic familiar with
newer methods in use for coal and iron. hand
windlass or In deeper shafts, whim and bucket
serve to hoist rock and poor ore until pay ore
in quantity Is located Even then the shaft
houses HOSTS and number Of men employed are.
as a rule small The largest shipper In the dis
trct employs 300 men at wages Of 50 day for
miners But this mine shipping about sixty
tons a day Of $50 average content, produced last
year ST. 800 900 worth OF No such close econo-
my In labor and machinery is necessary as In
Eastern coal and iron mines. Present methods
here are very wasteful. however. The same ma
Ii African field q