Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-01-03
CRIPPLE CREEK.

ted possession of the plains. pixies
Peak or Bust" was the cry Of the few
hardy and nCrvy adventurers who be-
lieyed that round and about that great
snow clad. towering sentinel lay wealth
untold Busted, by thunder" was the
admission when, after months OF toll
ing TO get thar" they found no min
eral, and pushed on to the golden Cali
f0rnia, many Of them leaving a trail
of death and bleaching bones behind
them on the Em.t'ess alkaE. 1t took
years 70 demonstrate the possibilities
Of chat section of the Rockies about
Pixies Peak. All theories were against
it. Geological wise heads said il could
not be. That rock and slope and for
nation and location ana what not were
against its ever producing pay Wise
heads have ever been unwise, however,
and some idiot. some brainless, pur-
pOseleSs. prOspector. at last unearthed
what cannot help to become the great
est gold producing territory known now
or ever known in The history OF the
world. It is fitting just at this time
that our country is able TO wrest this
palm from South Africa.
Cripple Greek is located under the
shadow of Pixies Peak, about twenty
miles in a westerly direction, approx
imately, from Colorado Springs. In
1891 it was accessible only by a difficult
Uouutain wagon road. twenty miles
from the nearest railroad station. The
first railroad was completed in July,
1898, The elevations vary from S,40O
TO 10750 feet above sea level. The
ereat depression in the silver industry
set all Colorado to hunting for sold,
and the succession Of great finds, the
unearthing of almost unlimited guam
titles Of the yellow metal in this vicin-
,ty. has been the means of attracting
thither many thousands OF investors,
and the building up in day, as 1t
We're. of @ city of 10000 people. The Flor
ence and Cripple Greek railroad enters
the camp from the south, and the Md
land Terminal from the east. The marye1-
DuS country many miles in extent, was,
Dnly FIVE years ago an inaccessible cat
tie pasture Colorado Springs is the
metropolis of Cripple Creek, Denver
not even excepted. Colorado Springs
rapital and the tremendous energy OF
her leading business men were more
instrumental i'm the development Of the
ramp than almost any other factors.
The growth of this phenomenal
camp is an apt Illustration of the great
advance made. in the science Of mining.
The taking from mother earth of her
precious charges was. and not many
years ago either. matter Of great
hardship and expense. IL was call
ing i'm which many have been called,
and few have been chosen, as regards
being successful. a hundred men
could be found who have failed where
one could be found who had succeeded.
Crinple Creek comes upon the scene,
fortified as no other great camp has
ever been. IL has the BENEFITS et It's
back of education tn the art OF mining;
of enormous capital. accumulated in
the richest State in the Union, by the
energy and pluck Of it's people; 1t has
the benefits Of convenient transporta-
ton facilities. and above all it has what
any camp must have in order TO be
believed i'm by the people, countless mill
lions Of dollars in gold, simply wait
inc 10 be taken from the ground.
Previously there had been numerous
sporadic mining eXcitementS in this
region. and though the existence Of gold
was proven. il was believed to be in
such small and uncertain quantities
that no profit paying ore bodies would
ever be found.
For the first two years Of the new era
ore under $50 a ton could not be for
warded TO shelters with profit To-day
@ S30-ore is a fair smelling proposition.
At the close Of 1891 there were less
than a dozen producing mines Last
-OctCber-there were 155. and
the number is constantly being added to.
To-day the output is at the rate of 49,,
500 tons a month, Of an average value
of S65 a ton No other gold field can
show such q record.
Gold is present. for the most part, in
the form Of tellurides, commonly spoken
OF as sylvanite ore. In this form mer-
curry viii not unite with the yellow me-
tai: hence the ores are rebelliOUs, rather
than free milling.
There is an immense supply Of me-
dunn and low grade mineral, from So
tO S25 a ton. the economic treatment of
which has but just been achieved. From
this source a large addition to the dis
tricts gold production viii hereafter be
made by the medium of chlOrinatiOn or
Cyaniding.
Exploration has been advanced in
large measure by the knowledge gained
from the field work of the United States
geological survey in 1884. The for
nation carrying the gold is of volcanic
origin and is styled andesitic breccia; in
the form Of bikes penetrating the gran
ite which is the surrounding country
rock. and as OverfOws therefrOm. In
the early life of the camp the andesitic
breccia was commonly spoken Of as
porphyry and was believed to be the
sole gold matrix Beyond the bOundar-
les Of the andesitic breccia are many
intrusiOns OF phOnOlite bikes in the
granite. some of which have recently
proven to carry gold in large quantities.
What a still further and continued
development Of this camp will bring
forth no one can now say. In the light
of past achievements and the recent
discoveries of new, large and rich ore
bodies. it can be conservatively con-
drned that the rate Of increase up to
date, from the opening of the camp,
Will continue for at least five years.
and probably longer. To put down
figures in millions Of dollars will not
avail. and grandiloQuent forecasts are
subject to ridicule, while proof is not
possible
Cripple Creek. to-day, however, is be- /
yond dispute the richest tissure vein
district in the entire world. The for
tunes it has distributed among the
many who had the temerity to venture
are small compared to those that will
be made In the next few years.