Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1900-12-08
Mining Items.

Frank Grimley, VIM. Morris,
Mining Items.
The Keystone Recorder says a Mr..
Harris of Philadelphia has contracted
for 500 tons Of Spodumene from the Eta,
mine, and Frank Mclaughlin will take
it ont.
Another great stampede is reported
from Cape Nome TO Cape Dryer, which
is situated 600 miles farther north. 1t
is said to be the richest gold district yet
found in Alaskan territory.
A force Of men have been busy the
past week or two placing the hoist and
pump on the Mayfower mine. 1t is
thought that the machinery will be all
in place and ready for operation by to-
morrow or next day.
w. A. Nelson, on Saturday Of last
week sold all his interest in the Copper
Butte Mining company TO j. F. Seiberl-
ing of Akron, Ohio. The amount paid
was not given out, but it is understood
\ run lHIo ipui HbuISo' MI ANOlSou 10
still heavily interested in some other
property adjoining the company's ground
to which he will devote his attention in
the future.
The National Mining and Smelling
company is the name Of an organization
recently perfected by Or. II. Ii. Muggley
for the purpose Of operating in the vi
cinity Of Galena. The company is com
posed of Boston capitalists and the off,
GERS and directors are as follows: Byron
Truell, Of Lawrence, Mass, president;
Rufus r. Wade of Boston, vice pre,i-
dent; William G.. Reed, Boston, secre-
tary; Rudolph c. Surbridge, Boston,
treasurer, II. Fl. Muggley, Deadwood,
general manager; J. Henry Read, West
ford, Mass. George w. Young, Jr., Con
cord, Mass. and A. l.. Lumbert, Bos-
ton.
TIE. %vIGILAETE.
A telegram received early in the week
by Manager Bush from Mr.. A. II, Spen
Ger Of New York, president of the Vigi-
lante Mining company, states that a
mining engineer would arrive here the
latter part of this week to make an ex-
animation of the company's property,
which is situated about eight miles west
of Custer. The mine is now clear OF
water, and it is expected that sinking
on the main shaft will be resumed in
the near future. The main shaft is
down PCS feet, with several drifts run.
ming in different directions from this
level. We understand that it is the in
tention Of the company to sink this
shaft 200 feet deeper. The company
has one of the best copper propositions
in the Black Hills. While drifting on the
265 foot level before closing down the
mine last June some very rich stringers
of ore were encountered, which simply
goes to show that all hat is lacking is
depth. 1t is believed by those CONVEX
SAINT with mining that If the present
shaft is sunk 200 feet deeper that a large
solid ore body will be found, and that it
will prove to be as rich, or richer, than
the ~stringers encountered in the drifts
on the 265 foot level.
ASSESSMENT WORK.
A large share of the assessment work
in the different mining districts has
been done, says the Mining Review. 1t
is generally remarked that the work
done this year is of q more substantial
character than that in former years.
There has been far too much shiftless
work done in the past. If every claim
owner had confined all of his work to one
particular tunnel or drift for the past
decade, instead of working out his hun
dred dollars in the "softest" place, there
would today be ten mines where there
is one. Again, in travelling through
the different mining districts, especially
in the counties Of Pennington and Gus
ter, the writer has noticed shiftlessness
which, indeed, speaks i'll to the particu.
lar district. Whether there is a mutual
understanding or not between the own
ers of mining claims when it m to
letting the assessment work 60 alto
gether, is a question. We have been
told that in some camps ground has
been held year after year without a
single stroke of assessment work. Some
men, especially in the Southern Hills,
claim a hundred or more claims, which
they are constantly trying to sell, but
their titles to the ground, in the sight
of the law, are worthless. This is a Ger.
tainly a bad practice; one that is in
furious to the mining camp. If, instead
of trying to hold fifty claims and only
representing them in a shiftless way,
the person would take a group of FIVE or
ten claims and faithfully perform the
required assessment work, that per-
son would a great deal sooner make a
sale, because he would be more apt to
have something in the way of ore, to
show to would be investors. The Min
ing Review makes a plea for honest rep
resentation of mining claims. Don't
p%erjure yourselves by putting up false
notices at your claims. Do the work re-
quired by the state law, do it we'll and