The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1897-09-04
THE TUNNEL AND SHAFT
BUSY SEASON OF PROsPECTORs Is
NOT YET PASSED.
Progress of Development Work.
Sale of Properties and Ship
ments of Ore.

the Natural Bridge district of Sweet
Grass county in Montana, than ever be-
fore and that some exceedingly promis-
ing finds have been made. On the Ore
gon group of mines, a half interest in
which was recently purchased by John
M. Smith of the Smith Bros. Sheep Com
pany, about 20 men are at present EN-
ployed. A few days ago a contract was
let for the driving of a 200-foot tunnel
and when this is finished there will be
in all about 700 feet of tunnels in the
Oregon mine alone. 1t is free-milling
gold proposition which runs about $l5 to
the ton. Three hundred tons of the ore
have been taken out and a five-stamp
mill will be at work upon it by Novem-
Der of this year. The Plymouth group
in the same district is also showing up
well and the tunnels driven in which
Congressman Hartman is interested
and the work being done is more with
view to finding out what there is
than to get any immediate returns
Mr.. Howell says, however, that the
prospects are that mill will be put in
there, too, before very long. Other prop
critics that are showing up well are the
jefferson, Gallatin and Madison and the
Yankee Girl. all south of The Oregon
group and all of the free mining va
riety. A number of Butte gentlemen,
headed by Nj. j. Connell, went up there
today, and while their trip is ostensi-
bly, for pleasure in the way of hunting
and fishing, they will, very likely, look
over the mines before they return.
Pierce City.
Pierce City camp is showing consider
able activity. The Golden Gate company
reports a new strike on its property 10
miles from town. 1t has been working
all summer on an open cut, and has
struck a larger vein carrying a higher
grade of ore. The Golden Bar company,
on the headwaters of ORC Elmo creek, is
working a whim and is down 20 feet
in good ore ON vein 20 to "a inches
wide The ore is high grade and free
milling. Ellis, Morrow & Laribee have
completed run of their best ore
through the stamp mill of the Column
bia Mining COnpany's plant. The result
was satisfactory and they will at once
begin to drive $50 feet more of tunnel
on the property. The owners of the
Klondike claim have completed cross
cut on the surface and have exposed a
vein of base ore 40 feet wide The com
pany has commenced to drive on the
ledge and will work all winter. The
Pioneer, on Musselshell creek, claims a
large share of public attention. The
ledge is growing wider and retains its re-
markable richness, assaying as high as
500 per ton. Gaffney & Ericsson have
found the ledge on their extension,
which shows almost the same richness.
c. p. Henley has a force of men at work
stopping out ore, which he expects to run
through the Columbia mill. He clean
ed up a handsome sum in this way a
short time since.
Boston and Montana Claim.
John Bordeaux and associates are
now at work on the Boston and Mon
tana claim at Meaderville, Mont, and
are down $50 feet from the surface with
a single compartment shaft. 1t is the
intention of Mr.. Bordeaux and the men
associated with him in his enterprise to
90 down $50 feet more and then cross
cut extensively. If no ore is found by
that time the syndicate will have about
$4,000 spent in looking for it which is
about the value of the entire claim as
far as the surface is concerned. The
n
doubt about there being any pay veins
in this claim and they have teams
busily engaged hauling away tailings
from the dump of the old smelter on
the claim which is said to 90 about 3
per cent copper. This ore was treated
in the old Boston and Montana smelter
before the Great Falls plant was con-
structed and the imperfect machinery
of those days failed to save all the
value of the ore. Besides the ore that
was treated with the old method, the
dump contains thousands of tons of
low grade ore that was not at that
time considered worth smelling. The
dump of the old smelter and the ore
now being taken from the East Colusa,
which is one of the old mines of the
camp, is sufficient to keep the Butte
and Boston smelter supplied with ore
at the present time.
Morning Mine improvements.
The march of improvements around
the Morning mill at Mullan, Idaho, still
continues. The new ore bins are DONE
and new railroads have been built both
] thnrn and dnr-n hnlnuu The lnmnr road