The indicator., 1897-01-09
THE OUTPUT OF 1896.
GOOD SHOWING OF THE MINES.
An Increase Over 1898, Despite Some srri-
Gus Drawbacks Summary of tho Min
ing Industry-A bright Future for ss7.

ments In some of the CAMPS the general
results are highly satisfactory Early In
the year the output of the Cripple Creek
district fell on TO some extent. but the
reopennS of the big producers and the
addition of many more have more thNn
made up for the temporary deficiency
and during the final four months Cripple
Greek has excellcd even itself Estimat-
ing the December output, The years
showing for Cripple Creek is claimed at
Slo,bh.Wo. an excess of S2.O0O,0OO over
last year. 1t is not probable that the fig
iires are an exaggcration, although smell
Ter, mint and mill returns alone make
them less. 1t should be understood
however, that an enormous amount OF
Cripple Creek gold finds its way out in
various channels from which there is
no possibility of obtaining returns and
thus an Injustice is frequently done 10
the district In the matter of statistics
The Cripple Creek Times. which has
made careful review of the perform
ance OF the year in the great gold belt
today places the output of the district
doubleday ms accurate as may be had
Victor alone produced the past year ST.
5W,W0 in gold. This is n most gratfy-
Ing showing, and the pcrmanency of the
Cripple Creek district cannot be doubted
during the year many new enterprises
have been started at Victor and the sur
rounding camps and the Importance of
the district Is shown by the erection Of
new mills in all quarters. At FLORENCE,
which has become one of the most note.
worthy of milling centcrs because OF its
natural milling advantages and Its prox-
lmity to the great gold district, the cyn-
nidf works have been running almost
constantly,
1he Cripple Creek district output Is d-
vided as follows: Leading mines. S.
l0i,1IO; small leasers. S1,34s, $50; stamp
mill products, S132,O0O: local assaycrs.
S15O,O0O; placers. $1,000.
Although year of depression in Lake
county. owing to the unfortunate labor
crisis, 1t should not be understood that
the camp of 1cadville has entirely ceased
operations. From leases and mines the
camp Is now averaging an output of
l,ooo tons per day. One of the most i'm
portant moves for Lcadville during the
year was contract made for large
output of ..ianganiferous iron ore for the
Illinois Steel company The Catalpa
and Crescent supply the company with
100 tons day.
Aspen, the center OF n distinctly silver
reducing country, has been doinG well
under unfavorable conditions. The dis
trict does not record so large an OUTPUT
this year as the previous year. The mar
ket Tor silver is not the only cause of
this. A serious obstruction was encoun-
tered the first of the year when the time
came for signing new contracts between
the mine owners and the smeter men,
Then it was that the Aspen miner found
to his CONSERVATION that smelter rates
had been raised on Aspen ores from fifty
cents to So per ton.
second handicap came in the way of
increased royalties, which had the effect
OF discouraging lcssecs and added to this
came the determination Of the companies
to limit their output to the actual expense
of keeping their properties in working
condition, awaiting the outcome of the
national election. Taking the above facts
into consideration, Aspen has no reason
to feel ashamed of her production for the
year just closed. which foots up as fol-
lows: Tons of ore mines, 191, 800;
ounces of silver. G6S5.5OO; value OF sill
vcr. $4,4T7,S ,SS..
OF this amount ~ per cent. was hand
led by the Aspen Public Sampling works,
so per cent by the Taylor & Brunton
Sampling works. and the remainder
shipped either directly to the smelters
or handled by the Smuggler concentrnt-
ing mill and shipped out in the form of
concentrates. As[ en- is self-support
Ing camp. 1t has more nearly solved the
leasing problem than any other mining
district. Fully 65 per cent. of the
immediate circulation through being paid
out for wages, supplies and the like, in
stead OF going into the reserves of the
mining companies and being sent out in
the shape of dividends. There are at
present employed In the district 1,50O
men as against 1,SOO year ago. The
majority of these are working leased
properties, either us lessees or in the en-
ploy of leasers. The wages paid for
practical miners are $3.50 per day of
eight hours, the same scale that obtained
during the latter half of 1895. Labor
troubles have been unknown and the
best of feeling prevails between employer
and employe. All seem TO be pulling
together and endeavoring to make the
best of existing conditions. The sturdy
self-reliance of the Aspen people might
well be initiated in some other quarters
A county that has advanced itself
wonderfully is Hinsdale where the
gold production has made wonder
full increase, mainly due to new
strikes. Recently in the Black Crook
group n big body Of gold ore was
opened up. The famous Golden
Fleece is maintaining its production.
and around Lake City at Carson
camp, on HOtchkiss mountain and 9TH
er tributaries more general work Is
being done than ever before In the
Gunnlson country the activity is pro-
nounced, at Pitkin, Spencer, Tin Cup.
Crystal, Irwin, Marble City, Ohio
City have attracted investments Of
an important nature. At Crested
Butte the coal mines have been In
constant operation, and marble from
the Gunnison Quarries is being ex-
tensively used in Denver. No county
can show more varied resources than
this and 1t is n significant fact that