The Madisonian. (Virginia City, Mont.) 1873-1915, 1896-12-12

Commissioner Jake Crisman arrived
from Whitehall Monday. He had Il
talk with one Of the owners of the
property WHO informed him that the
first shipment Of eight tons, taken
across the vein, averaged slO5 to the
ton. ,....,..,.
J.C. Sloss, who will have the man
agement Of the working Of the German
Bar property under the new company,
arrived from Boulder a few days ago
He is making contracts for wood and
lumber and other supplies and will do
some preliminary work after the holi-
days
Alder gulch miners have taken a
keen interest in th e operations OF the
Gold Dredging company at <Bannack
ener since the company began work,
realizing that the successful operation
of the Bannack plant would mean, pos
sibly, the erection of a similar plant in
Alder gulch sometime in the future.
The following account, taken from the
Butte Miner, of the doings of the Ban
mack company. will be read with in
terest: '~t '-
Herman J. ReiIing, president and
manager of the Gold Dredging COM
pany, of Bannack left the city yester-
day for Chicago, where he will spend
the winter. In the spring Mr.. Rcil-
ing will again resume operations on
Grasshopper creek, from which he is
taking out large quantities OF gold.
The Gold Dredging Company has spent
over 5000, 900 ON the plant at Bannack
and for the first time the work has been
successful during the past summer. A
satisfactory cleanup from the creek
bottom has been made for the sum-
Reiling says, the entire amount spent
on the plant including all the money
needed in its operation will be return
ed to its stockholders in profits.
Bannack in Beaverhead county was
the original gold field of Montana and
it was not until about $3O,OO0,OO0 had
been taken from the placers in 1862 and
for several years after, that the famous
Alder gulch placers were discovered
and worked. The placers were To-
Gated on both banks of Grasshopper
creek and after they were worked out
several Intellectual attempts were made
to work out the bed of the stream but
by ordinary methods this was found inn
possible from the fact that the had not
= sufficient fall.
1t was Of course known that the creek
bed was rich in gold but it was suppos-
that it could never be worked, to ad-
vantage from the cause stated. In
May; 1896, Mr.. Reiling conceived the
idea of boat with an endless chain OF
buckets working on cable that would
bring up the gravel from bedrock. The
boat was constructed and p buckets at
tached to the chain. The chain tC
which the buckets are attached is 7(
feet in length and the buckets go down
50 feet deep from the end of the poat
AS each bucket reaches the bottom oI
the creek it fills and the revolving
chain brings it around to the top where
the load, by an automatic arrangement
is dumped into grizzley. A stream O
water is constantly playing on the
gravel as it is dumped and the smaller
gravel and loose gold falls through the
bars and is carried away through /;
fiume l5O feet long, being forced by ;
centrifugal pump. The large boulder
after being washed are turned aside
and washed ashore. ..
Mr.. Reiling has the apparatus GOV
cred by seven patents and it is said ha
several other large contracts which h
will commence work on in Montan:
next year.
The Zephyr is not able to get at thu
facts from those interested in the pro
perty, but the talk among the minin g
class is that splendid strike has beer
made in the Gold Hill, property two