The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-02-24

the base of which there has been erect
ed mill turning out hundreds of grind
stones daily, of quality that has been
proved by practice and science to have
no equal in the world. This same stone
which is suitable for building purposes,
and occurs in several shades of buff
gray and cream, has given a substan-
tial appearance to the town, as most
of the larger structures are built of the
stone. That Edgemont's manufacture
ing interests have not been neglected
may be seen in the form of a five-story
stone wooden mill, whose wheels will be
running the coming season, drawing its
raw material from the surrounding hills
and finding an outlet for it's product in
local market.
Northwest of Edgemont and about
forty-tive miles distant are the rich
coal fields of Cambria, Wyoming, which
employ four hundred men, placing al
most at the gates of Edgemont an in
eXhaustible supply of excellent cooking
coal at the low price of $255 per ton.
Within easy access are extensive clay
bottoms furnishing brick of remarkable
firmness and texture.
left Edgemont en- route for Deadwood
located in territory without an equal
namely, the Black Hills, to which Edge
mont is the gateway city. These hills
produce siXty-two of the sixty-four
known minerals of the world, and yet
in spite of the millions upon millions of
dollars they have yielded up, they have
only been scratched over" The day
light run from Edgemont to Deadwood,
a distance of about one hundred miles.
has been designated as the pleasant
est four hours railroad ride in Amer
lea" One traveller whose globe-trot-
tings are as extensive as his power of
illustration is apt, calls the Black Hills
a pocket edition of the Alps, and an
Improvement on the original"
The altitude, $500 feet above sea level,
together with beautiful climate, rem
der it an ideal place to live. We found
less snow in the middle of February
| than we had left in the east.
Arriving at Deadwood, we were treat
ed to a sled ride Of twelve miles over
the mountains to the mining camp of
Galena, where we had an opportunity
to visit all the claims, mines and stamp
mill Of the Union Hill and the Edge
| mont and Union Hill Smelling COM
pany. The former of these companies
| has mining claims embracing over five
| hundred acres OF gold bearing proper
ties, two of which have been pronounc-
ed equal to the famous Homestake
mine, of which we shall speak later.
The Edgemont and Union Hill Smelt-
| ing company, composed of many prom
| inent men of the east, have already
spent thousands of dollars in develop
ing a number of rich mines adjacent
to those mentioned above, and have
commenced active operations for the
erection of a large smelter at Edge
mont to handle the refractory ores
from their own mines as well as the
output of the mines Of idaho, Wyoming
and the great northwest. The nearest
smelter now is that of the Omaha and
| Grant Smelling company at Omaha,
| Neb., which started with q capital OF
| 900 and to-day is one of the largest
smelling companies in the world, with
a capitalization of over $5,000000, and
receiving ores for treatment from al
| sections of the United States, British
Columbia and old Mexico. The output
of this company for 1896 in silver, gold
lead and copper was $7,22S,O12.
/ The smelter at Edgemont will be five
/ hundred miles nearer the mines and
will open many properties that now
cannot bear the freight charges tc
| Omaha.
Saturday morning, February IS, in q
lively snow storm, we started back
Il
where we took the train on a narrow.
gauge road for a visit to the Homestakt
gold mine dow grade free milling) a
Lead City, S. D. This mine, which is
the second largest in the world has
paid s6,O56, $50 in dividends, and there i!
to-day enough ore in sight measured
up to last thirty years. The mine pro
iduces exactly 100000 a month, or So,
1893 SO every day in the year The pa
value of the stock is 800 a share, ant
a monthly dividend of % cents pc
share is regularly paid. A factor!
town of 5000 people has been built III
around this mine, and the immens
works have the appearance of an iron
foundry.
On the afternoon of the same day W,
returned to our car for the homewart
run of over 1000 miles, leaving behint
scenes never to be forgotten.
The Black Hills, broken and Jagged
with no apparent continuity of direc
ton. are rendered still more impressive
and beautiful by being heavily timber
ed from the bottoms of the intervening
gulches to their very peaks with stated,
pines and slender white birches, tn
whole aspect Of which was brightene'
with mantle Of snow.
E. n. SEARLES.