, 1900-02-08
The Bright Prospects which Sur
round that Great Copper
Camp-What:s being
Planned for the
Future.
RICH COPPER MINES ALMOST
Within the Confines of the Cloud Cap
ped City of Battle-The Hercu-
les Will Soon be a Pro
ducer.

The continual flow of copper
ore from the Battle Lake mining
district, which the Rudefeha mine
has turned loose and guided down
through this valley to the railroad
and on to the Denver smelters,
and the great promise which
every other mine in that entire
region gives of like productive
ness, makes the Battle Lake coun-
try a favorite theme for all tongues.
The history of the camp has
been a remarkable one, in that it
has never had a back set, but has
been brilliant from the start.
Ever since the year 1878, when
George f. Doane, associated with
two or three others, located the
Rambler adjacent to the lake
known as Battle Lake, (Which
gives name to the entire region,)
there has been some work done in
that country. A few years since,
MIR. Doane shipped some of the
very rich copper ore from the
Rambler to a Denver smelter,
which shipment attracted the at
tention of mining men, who at
once hocked to the country and
began prospecting for leads. They
were successful to a wonderful de-
gree and the camp has steadily
risen in importance and grown in
magnitude every day since that
first shipment.
About two miles east of the
Rambler, and Oh the western rim
of the Continental Divide, there
were located, during the summer
of 1898, two or three claims by
w. q. Ledbetter. These claims
were very promising at the sur
face and assayed rich in both gold
and copper. An old Swede by
the name of Okerlund located two
or three claims adjoining the Port
land Group, as the Ledbetter
claims are now known. The Oker-
lund claims were purchased by A.
A. rulley, who later organized the
Hercules Mining company. The
very promising character Of these
claims was the immediate cause
of the laying out of the townsite
of Battle, whose boundaries are
adjacent to the Hercules proper
ties.
Mr.. j. NJ, Thomas, Jr., is the
postmaster of this cloud capped
city, which can boast of being up
a little higher in the world
than any other town in this state,
its elevation being fully 1000 feet,
was in the city this week, and
gave THE Sun many interesting
facts concerning the prospects of
the Hercules mines in which he is
interested. He said:
I'VE are down with the inten-
ton of going to Denver shortly,
for some machinery. We have
been compelled to shut down tenn
porarily. because we have struck
more water in the shaft than our
present machinery will handle.
We intend to get in a good sized
boiler and a Cameron pump, after
which we expect no more trouble,
The original discovery of the
Hercules properties Was made in a
diorite formation, on the south
side of which lies granite. We
started our shaft 120 feet forth of
the contact and are down l6S
feet. To the north of the shaft
some 200 feet lies a quartzite for
nation, which dips to the south.
All between the granite and
quartzite is diorite which is inter
spersed with copper.
"ln sinking our shaft we have
encountered ten or twelve string
ers, from six inches to four feet
In thickness, all dipping to the
south. These stringers, which
were found all the way down the
shaft, all show copper ore. The