Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1896-08-06
AMMON'S LATEST.


(Great Falls Tribune.]
In depicting the society upon the
Stanislaus, particularly at Nye's
Ford, Bret Harte made familiar to
thousands of readers one man whose
reputation made familiar to thous-
ands of readers one man whose rep
utation, in the community in which
he lived, for truth and veracity was
such that he bore with graceful dig
nifty the sobriquet of Truthful
James" Mr.. Harte wrote too soon;
his works were considered exagger-
ated i'm their sketches of western life:
If the author of ''The Luck of Roar
ing Camp" had hut waited until 1895,
he might have found a hero i'm New
York i'm the winter, or at Cripple
Creek when a new mining exchange
was to be organized, or at Gilt Edge,
Montana-when the miners were not
home and the sheriff was not i'm pos
session of the camp-and Mr.. Harte
need not have attributed to 1.-The
heather Chinee" all the "ways that
are dark and things that are vain" !"
In the last issue of the New York
Engineering & Mining Journal ap-
pears the following remarkable in
terview:
"AmmOn-Stivers Mining Company
IncorpOrated.-COl. X. A. AmmOn,
the president, stated to a represen-
tative of the the Engineering and
Il 1Se .hsa ,nfl
| the property now owned by this
company from the Gilt Edge Mining
tcompany at sheriff's sale in 1894 for
$4S,O 900, and that he has erected cy-
anide plant which cost in the neigh
bOrhOOd of $S0,O0O. Col. AmmOn
| was the general manager of the Gilt
Edge Mining company before the sale
of the property. He says that he
believed that he knew the best meth
cd trea ting it's ores, but some of the
officers, thinking that they could
manage Improperly better than him.
self, started the operation which
finally resulted in a sherih's sale.
There We're some liens on the Gilt
Edge Mining company, and these
people, after the property was sold,
lfOrcibly evicted the superintendent
lappointed by the purchasers, and
took possession of the workings. I'm
lconseQuence of this a petition was
filed at Great Falls by the officers Oi
the Ammon-Stivers Mining company
to the effect that the parties who
were operating the mines did not un-
derstand the cyanide process of treat
ing the ores, and that they were ruin
ing the machinery. Col. Ammon
says that when the matter was
brought up in court he asked and
II int ix-or- aud that he
in turn placed Mr.. L. G. Phelps Ol
Great Falls i'm the new position
Everything is said to be in success
full operation now, and it is hoped by
Col. Ammon that those who are re
ally entitled by law to claim moneys
ON the mines will soon be paid. Tht
officers of the Ammon-Stivers Min
ing company, incorporated, are al
follows: Col. X. A. AmmOn, presi
dent; X. Nj. Stivers, first vice-presi
dent; Z. b. Foote, Jr., second vice
president; +. b. Thurber, third vice
president; Walter Lauder. secretary
and treasurer. The prii cipal ofiic.
of the company is in New York city.
Honest Bob" is correct in all th'
above statements. except the follow
ling: That he purchased the property
at sheriff's sale; that he purchased
lit for ~, 900; that he erected a cyan
ide plant at cost of $SO,OOO; tina
other offices started the sheriff's sale
that he asked to be appointed receiv
er; that he was appointed receiver
that he, In turn, placed Mr.. Phelps II
the new position; that everything i
in successful operations; and 80 far a
Il the doughty "colonel's" hope is con
. cerned-well, THAT is another story,
as Rudyard Kipling would say.
In the personal column of the sam
journal appears the following:
Captain Eakins left New YOrl
. this week for Gilt Edge, Mont, t.
E take charge OF the financial oper
: ations of the Amman-Stivers Minin'
: company"
3 Financial" IL rich.