Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-02-10
Deputy Inspector Hunter Tells
Of the Biz Strike.
BIGGEST IN THE STATE
Sale Of the MadiS0nian to Western
PartieS-Strike in the Broad
way-Mining News.

There may not be enough ore in the
Boss Tweed mine at Pony to pay off the
national debit" said Deputy State Mime
Inspector Frank Hunter yesterday. but
there is no ~disputing the fact that it is
the biggest strike ever made in the
state"
MI. Hunter recently returned from an
inspection of the mines of Madison coun-
ty. He is a miner of many years ex-
perience and very conservative in his
statements. He made a very thorough
Investigation of the big ledge cut al the
Clipper group of mines of which the Boss
Tweed 10 a part, n he says that i'm all
his experience in mining he never saw
anything like it.
II believe 1t is the turning point in the
history of Madison county %rn1nes," he
continued with much earn~estness. "Dur-
ing the past ten years you could mot get
a capitalist to touch a mine in that coun-
ty. The general belief was entertained
that the ore bodies, although rich at the
surface did not hold out with depth, and
this in view Of the fact thai the deepest
mine in the county had not attained a
depth of more than 600 feet.
Development work Of a desultory ma
ture has been going on in the Clipper
group of mines Tor several years past,
being comprised chiefly to the running
Of q tunnel on the Clipper mine. This
tunnel Is now in about 1900 feet and taps
the Clipper ledge at a depth Of abou
1.20o feet. There il q good body Of ore
a. this point but it is nothing in COM
parison with the recent strike.
The Boss Tweed IS situated north Of
the Clipper. w. w. Morris, one Of the
owners who has been working the CliD-
per for the past two or three years, re-
Gently decided to run a crosscut at a
point about $500 feet from the mouth OF
the tunnel to the Boss Tweed ledge. In
the crosscut 500 feet north the Workmen
ncountere the gneiss hanging wall and
driving through 1T cut THE prettiest ledge
ever fashioned by nature. The ledge
has a pitch Of about IS degrees. /
measured it from foo to hanging-iust
81 feet OF solid quartz assaying rom Sc
to $l75 per ton. An average of the CON.
cen'trates, 10 into l, will give $50 per ton.
A present the rich ore is being sorted
and shipped to Butte Inc Helena. A few
small shipments have also been made to
Colorado. The second class ore is being
piled on the dump until a wall is erect
ed. It is a splendid concentrating and
cyanlding proposition and from such a
mammoth ledge at least 500 tons of ore
can be broken daily. The ore body is
not a pocket but a reguiar contact fs-
sure vein. This has been demonstrated
W AIlItHlS vi IL some ~ 1eSt or more,
with not a break in sight. Raises are
also being runt to secure good air. About
20 men are employed and tine mine is be.
ling thoroughly opened up.
The mine is owned by W. w. Morris
of Pony, an Henry Filing Of Virginia
City. ust what disposition they win
make Of 1t l could not learn, but it is
likely that they will at once begin the
construction of a big milling and cyan.
idlng plant. There is a 1O-stamp mill on
the Clipper group but it is operated by
water power and is NOT now running"
Years ago the owners of the Clipper
We're offered a quarter of a million dol
Lars for the group OF 30 claims. The
oIfer was refused. Captain Thomas
Couch inspected the properties some
seven or eight years ago and made a ia
vorah.e report to a Boston syndicate.
but the price asked was considered too
high. The same syndicate purchased
the MERGED mines in California fore a
greater sum and the mines never paid a
dollar.
BEN Tibbey, former superintendent OF
the Parrot. also made an examination of
the Clipper group for his Mr..
Tibbey had little faith in the mines and
believed would turn into the basest kind
OF iront Later a e was engineered
for the sale of the group to a London
syndicate, and the deal wolIu have been
consumlna ted but for the fact thai some
middle men who Were in on the deal
wanted to have a large slice of the
profits.