The Portland daily press., 1897-01-14
DOES GOLD GROW.
Some Veteran Miners who Pretended to
Believe that 1t Does.

from the Butte Inter n fountain
They were all weather beaten trail
tlazers who had led the march of civil
izatiun into the mountains and as they
toasted their shins by the big stove in
Lon Pickett's hotel bar at Melrose their
con versation wandered from the recent
election and the departed glories of other
days to the latest discoveries in science.
John Helesha n had just finished rading
from mining journal about Prof En-
mons's discovery Of the method of trans
muting silver into gold.
1T think Emlnons is humbug" said
old Judge Lonely California Argonaut.
The old alchemists. you know, tried that
but they might as well have tried to
make fan apple seed. Nature holds the
germ and all the scientists who initiate
her can do is to quicken Its growth. !"
"I've heard tell of gold growing" re-
marked Will Robbins.
$50 have l., said the Judge but you
have never seen it grow have your
don't believe all thu yarns these experts
spin anyhow
Boys" spoke up John Treanor, "per-
haps have got some queer old notion g
slowed away under this diggin' nat of
mine but or thirty years man and boy
I've been prospeotor and l have been
dom some thinking. And l tell you
now that l believe gold does grow.
Twenty years ago i struck the Locust
and sank shaft. 1t was silver ore and
after diggin' for awhile gave tt up in
disgust. Then I wandered over to the
other side Of the range and located the
Banner a copper mine now in the pos
session of the Anaconda company. l
moseyed around for awhile and light
Years ago back to my old love the Locust.
Hang me if could believe my eyes boys
when I found the prettiest ledge of gold
ore right where the silver ledge was. 1t
was as pretty as picture and / kept
right on diggin' and have been diggin
in that hole ever since. 1t seemed to me
that in the places where the water struck
it it grew richer. / run in three tunnels
at the bottom bus found the gold was
not yet ripe SO just ciosad up the tun-
nels and let them rest for few years.
"Blame me if I don't think Hank
Stebbins does tho same thing said jack
Fljce, s'Hank lives up in Soap Gulch,
and has claim he calls the Belcher.
He discovered it thirty years ago when
Wash Staplston was making bullets in
his lead .line to kill Indians with. 1t
is in funny formation for that part OF
the country 1t is In reef of sand lying
between the lime formation that borders
on the Melrosa Valley and the stratit1ed
gneiss formation that runs from that
poiut' to the base of Red Mountain.
Thirty years ego Hank discovered that
there were globules Of silver in the sand,
and located it. but there wasn'S enough
mineral to pay, and he abandoned it.
| Ten years ago he won't back to the old
mine and began turning over the sand.
He began to find chunks Of gold instead
of silver. He has a good thing of it-.now.
He mines it like the Mexicans used te
mine it years ago. He cuts stairs in the
sand and takes the rock up in u candle
box and sorts it over. Now, NIL he has
| got TO do when he wants to make stak
| Is to 60 down to the sand pile and wig
gle orowbar Al ound for few minutes,
when up comes a piece OF SHINING gold.
| Several capitalists have ATTIC mpted to gel
hold of the mine, and one of Heinze's
agents made him "a good offer for 1t, but
Hank won 't7sell, for he is sure be has 8
| fortune If the gold keeps on growing