The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1899-05-13

claim, and were working in the
Concentrated ground. 1t was not
long before the company had struck
very fine ore, and in the last two
years, it is said that the drifts north
have opened up better mine on
the Concentrated ground than the
company had in any part of the Flor
ence workings, and today it is con-
sidered one of the richest properties
yet found in the camp. Under the
very able management of Daniel
Lenny, the Florence has prospered.
AS the property increased in val
ue, the company grew more greedy
for Preston's interest and decided if
possible to wear him out in the
courts. When times were hardest,
in the midst of the present financial
stringency, they pursued Preston
with second law suit The first
suit was to oblige him to pay one
tenth of $4,000 alleged to have
been due on mortgage, and the
second suit instituted by A. M. Hen
ry, was to make him pay one-tenth
of $4,000 said to have been involved
in another mortgage. The cases are
similar, and if one were decided, it
would decide the other. But the
first suit having been hung up in the
supreme court, they instituted the
second as sort of bugbear or Quak-
er cannon to instill fear in the heart
of an adversary.
Upon hearing reports of the COM
pany's work in his ground, and of its
richness, Preston decided to ask the
company for permission to survey
the mine, to ascertain if the rumors
were true. In July of 1898 he
wrote his request to a. M. Henry
who Immediately replied that the
company was not working in ground
in which Preston claimed an
interest, but that they were confn-
ing all work to the Florence and
M and claims. So Preston thought
that as Henry had the name of being
honorable, it would not be wise to
push for survey at that time. But
later, upon hearing that ore had
been struck in the north drift at
the 300 foot level, that assayed 435
ounces in silver, and as rumors kept
coming in that the company was on
the Concentrated ground, he decided
to keep his eyes and ears open.
An incident which more than all
else convinced Preston that the ru-
mors were correct occurred nearly
two years ago, when the company
began prospecting their vein on the
surface, digging out two holes on the
Concentrated and one on the Mon
arch. Seeing this, he resolved to
wait no longer, and through his law
yer he applied first to the company
rather than to the court, for survey,
and after some months of contention
succeeded in securing that which any
court would have ordered on short
notice. Mr.. Preston employed G. w.
Helmick, mining engineer of Hele-
ma, to perform the work and in the
week of April IS, last, the survey
was made.
On May l, Preston received the
maps from his surveyor, and on in
spection it was shown that the COM
pany had crossed the side line into
the Concentrated claim, at point
226.5 feet from the Florence end
line; that the company had traversed
that distance and about so feet, on an
average of all levels, farther than
their end line, making total of 270
to 29O feet which they have drifted
into Preston's ground.
Mr.. Golm'ey, in behalf of his eli
ent, Immediately asked of the Flor
euce people settlement, and the
latter replied, without questioning
the accuracy of the survey, that the
maps do not determine the apex of
the vein, as the workings are 200 to
800 feet and more below the surface.
The company makes this statement,
when it knew two years ago that the
mine was entering contested ground;
else, how did the people of Neihart
know when the Florence crossed the
sideline, if the information did not
emanate from the company? The
survey of Mr.. Helmick shows that
they crossed the sideline about where