Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1896-03-26
MINING CAMP METHODS.
How Claims Are Discovered bv
Professional Prospectors
They Ussaily ssai Thsar Ristts t. Capitalists
WIN lnmsdiatsly Proceed to Flood The
Market with Largs Blocas ss Stock.

Mining booms move in cycles, and rise
and fall like the ~restless waves Of the ocean.
and those who follow these periodical
booms may also be compared to the ..cease-
less waves, never ut rest" The present i,
the greatest boon in the history Of the
world. 1t not only covers the United
States, including far-t q Alaska, but we find
il in South Africa, Venezuela, New Zea.
land, Australia and South Australia. The
gold fever seems to have broken out stimuli
taneously throughout the world, and there is
stilla mad rush Of gold seekers and adven-
turers to all these points. The gold product
Of the past year is estimated at $500, ooo, 900
AAxreater than ever before in the worlds
history. Of this the United States
produced $sc,ooo.eoo, Colorado produced
SI7,ooo,ooo, about half of this coming
from the Cripple Greek district. Thus it
will be seen that a district three miles
square produced n sixth OF the gold pro.
duct of the United States. This years
estimate from Cripple Greek is 81, ooo, 900 a
month. If the other districts in Colorado,
Utah, Montana. California, Arizona, Alaska
and New Mexico, but slightly increase, the
yield will be about $75,coo,ooo this year.
And if the fields in the other parts of the
world increase proportionately gold must
soon hecome a drug in the market, and
neeessitate the remodeling of the basis Of
finance. 1t will become as plentiful as sill
YER, and also cause q revision of politics.
II will solve the problem at which our
.tatesmen are hammering, cy upsetting their
theories and giving them new conditions to
consider.
A recent estima e shows there is $780,
coo. 600 Of gold in the United States, and
at the present rate of production the amount
would be doubled in twelve years. Unless
business and population increased pro.
p~ortion; tely, perhaps silver would be at a
premium.
The canse of this widespread gold fever
is due mainly to science and the invention
of ~improveda machinery, which greatly
lessons the cost Of production. Without
giving "expert Details" that would need
explanation, the matter may be illustrated
with the statement that during the Lead
vile boom IS years ago, ore that did not
yield at least ten dollars to the ton was
thrown away As useless. 1t just about paid
expenses. Now there is . profit in ore that
yields only three dollars to the ton. I'm
proved machinery and the new scientific
process Of extracting ores take almost the
last particle of gold out of the rocA. and as
efectually as the life is squeezed out of a
lemon. These Improvements have caused
q revival in the mining industry, and the
wild rush of .sprospectors" to the new fields.
Or, rather, they rush wherever they be-
lieve god may be found.
There are, in the west, thousands Of
''piospectors" who follow no other vo. alton
than that of mining. They are not eek.
perts'' as mining parlance goes, and laugh
at the '.wise'' opinions of ''experts" who
have learned mining by theory. Several
experts have stated that ''by the very ma
ture Of the formation col, could not exist"
in the mountains now known as the Cripple
Creek district-the richest in the world.
The ~prospector trudges over the mountains,
examining pieces of rock as a botanist does
4 flower, and when he has found ''good
Indications" he camps. That is, he and
suffering. A few hold on, and join ties his
burro to q stake, unload his months supply
Of provisions, and with his pick begins to
dig. He finds q piece of rock glistening
with golden particles. His trained eye
estimates that a ton of that kind
Of rock should contain $40, $Ioo or
$1,000. He continues to dig to satisfy HIM
self Of the extent of the vein, or deposit.