Red Lodge picket. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1889-1907, 1900-02-09
HAS 4 BRIGHT FUTURE
A Livingston Paper Tells About the Dis
covery and the Mines Of the
Sunlight District.
RAILROAD AND SMELTER
Development Of the Promising Camp Means
Much to Red Lodge Henry Vii
lard Is Interested.

Park County Republican: Tho first
discovery Of any Importance in the
Sunlight district occurred late in the
fall Of 1880, too late to bring the find
into prominence, but the following
spring several parties went into that
section, located claims and performed
considerable development work.
The first lead was discovered by
Captain Pratt, now Of Crevasse, A.
Miller, ('Horn") of Cooke City
and Jack Malin, now Of this city.
Jack Burnett went in with this party.
and when the group of mines, con-
sisting Of tho Silver Tip, Tip Top,
Rainbow, Novelty, Dixie All the Ger
trude, were located, he secured u one
quarter interest i'll tho six claims.
These claims were aftcrward sold
to j. II. Painter, who has since dis
posed Of them to Henry Willard and
associates, comprising Il New York
syndicate, for something like $4,000
for the Silver Tip aud Evening Star
this latter mine being a relocation
Of, or an eXtention to, one OF the orig
inal six claims.
The rock is basalt and different
kinds Of porphyry formation; most Of
the leads being found il porphyry
; dikes, while the ore is permeated
with gold, silver, lead and other val
uablo minerals, which is easily worked,
although the rock II not FREQ milling,
being what il termed as high grade
smelling ore"
Since the purchase of the Silver
Tip and Evoning Star lodes by VII
lard, considerable interest HAS been
; taken by tile men owning properties
in Sunlight, and the coming year will
see a large number of relocations, rs
also many new claims open up. If
the reports can be verified upon COM
ter is to be erected at the camp the
r present season, thousands OF tons of
ore will be mined enough to keep
the smelter going the year round
The parties who are spoken Of us
promoters of the smclter project are
George Vickers Of Red Lodge and
DR.. j. =. Simpson Of Sheridan, the
!, latter gentleman having, it is stated,
the assistance OF eastern capital to
push things to Il speedy consumma-
tion. Both of these gentlemen own
!. some very promising properties adj jac-
ont to the mines just purchased by
Mr. Willard.
d. 3. Witch Of Livingston was
among the first going into the Sun
light country, having outfitled Jack
. Burnett in February, 1891. Mr.. Wit
i itch has obtained some good holdings,
J among which are the Butte Copper
! Group lie has been keeping up
his assessment work every year since
, 1891 and now beg gins to see a realiZa-
tion of his faith in the pernlanency Of
the camp. He has always maintained
that when properly developed Sun
light camp would eclipse all other
camps in Montana or Wyoming, be-
lieving that mines richer even than
the Drum Lummon of Marysville
would some day be credited to Sun
light.
!, This camp is about twenty miles
over the line between this state and
: Wyoming, little south OF southeast
Of Cooke City. So it is not unreason=
able to suppose that the merchants
Of Montana, either at Red Lodge or
Billings, will get the cream of the
trade in merchandise, machinery and
traffic 1t is said that Billings pco-
pie are interested in securing the cx-
tention Of the road from Bridgercle
into the mines at Sunlight which
could be done at comparatively low
cost, while the citizens Of Red Lodge,
many of whom are personally inter
ested in Sunlight, are beginning to
discuss the possibility of pushing to
; completion an electric road into that
camp and up to Cooke City. Should
an electric line be built over this
T, route, Cooke City will add much to-
ward paying the roads expenses, for
T in that event that camp would rapidly
: develop. The lack Of good road
facilities is what has kept Cooke City