The silver lance., 1899-06-09
NEWS FROM THE
WESTERN REGION.

ton. He is about to return to Wash
ingtOn, d. c., for a survey OF the
township, and the land office Will be
asked to issue small holding titles to
lands occupied by settlers. Under the
present law, however, the city cannot
acquire title to the streets and the
plaza, and the courts will be asked to
set the law aside.
Information has been received from
Special Agent G. b. Abbott that the
log boom, which he has been using
across the Platte river at Fort Steele,
Wyoming, for the purpose Of gather
ing railroad cross ties, has broken and
upwards Of 5000 ties have been swept
down stream. The river commenced to
rise Saturday and in twentyfour hours
the water raised two and half feet
Three wire cables, each an inch in
diameter, broke under the pressure Of
the ties and the strong current. An ef-
fort is being made to save the ties at
a point lower down the river, which 1t
is thought will be successful. The
property is that seized by the govern
ment from Contractor J. G. Teller, who
was accused of cutting it from govern
ment land. The entire number seized
is Al, 900, scattered at various points in
and along the Platte river from Fort
Steele to Saratoga.
The Colorado Fuel and Iron Com
pany has shut down its mine at Crest
ed Butte. This was entirely unantici-
pated. The only solution that presents
itself Is that the company is deter
mined to break the miners union,
which was organized here two weeks
ago with membership of about 200.
ID d1nc If hn
300 men are thrown out of employ
n.ent, and if the mine does not reopen
within several weeks suffering will en-
sue, because many of the employees
only have a few dollars coming and
can get no credit. The business ele-
ment is naturally greatly depressed
This is the first instance in the history
of the mine that it has been closed
down except for strikes, because the
coal and coke produced here are of
superior quality and are in great de-
mand.
The snow fighters are still at work
with dynamite and shovel on two
branches of the mountain system OF
the Colorado and Southern road. Above
Breckenridge, in the direction Of Lead
vile, two gangs of men are hammer
ing away on avalanches which left
twenty-five feet of ice and snow in
their track. Two gangs are also ham,
mering at great snow banks in the re-
gion of Alpine pass. The difficulties
are so great that the report Of one day
this week showed only twenty-five feet
progress as the result of the entire
days operations Without the aid of
dynamite it is claimed the banks would
not disappear before the Fourth of
July, so hard have they become. Ad-
vices last evening gave encouragement
that the line between Como and Gun
nison would be open for traffic to-mor-
row. Officers Of the railway are max
ing no promises. 1t is probable that
steel snow sheds will be erected before
the snow flies in the fall. Insurance
companies refuse to insure wooden
sheds.
Every mine in the Occur d'Alene dis
tric4 closed down Thursday except the
Bunker Hill. which employs non-union
miners 1t is expected that the new
prison Will b. completed Saturday and
in it will be confined 395 prisoners who
are now herded in an improvised cor
raj. Two hundred union miners left
| Wallace to-day, as with the present
temper Of the district attorney and
military 1t is hopeless for union miners
to expect work in Occur d'Alene. Gen
eral Merriam's order requires that any
miner working after to-day must Sc
cure a permit To obtain this permit
he must renounce allegiance to the
union. Only $50 men now working at
the Bunker Hill mine have taken out
these permits. Other mine owners
have not exacted permits; in fact, they
seem to be very lukewarm in the anti
union crusade The result is that to-
day all those mines had to be shut
down. In the Last Chance $50 men
were turned out. In Canyon Greek 200
men were laid off and at Wallace 300
more were discharged.
1t is reported that radical changes in
the curriculum of the Colorado Agri-
cultural College are contemplated. 1t
is claimed, says the Denver Post, by
those who question the wisdom of the
present administration that while there
has been an apparent advancement in
the institution, the educational stand
| ard has been lowered that the net re,
suits Of the large expenditure of mon
ey in salaries, apparatus and new
buildings, as shown in the number of
graduates turned out, is far from be-
ing satisfactory. They also claim that
while the annual attendance has shown
an increase IL mas DeeH accomplished
by industrious and persistent drum
ming for new students throughout the
state and adjoining states, and by the
constant admission of students in the
preparatory and sub-fleshman classes,
who, in fact, by reason Of their ex-
treme youth, are entirely out of place
| in such an institution. For instance,
there has for years existed in Fort Col
Inns a strong antagonism between the
college and the high school in conse>
quence Of constant effort on the part
of the former to build up its fortunes
at the expense Of the latter The insti-
tuition of a commercial department Is
also commented upon unfavorably as
entirely out Of place in an agricultural
| COLLEGE The number of students at