, 1900-09-06
GRAVE DANGER.
Shall The Waters of Our Streams be
Kept Pure or Allowed to be Dehl-
ed-An Important Law.
Denver, Colo,
Aug. 9th, 1900.

EDITOR SUM-
To one who has witnessed the
conquest of many conditions by
the people of Colorado and the
mining industries in this state, it
is intensely gratifying to observe
the growth of the mining indus
try in the State of Wyoming.
Recent visits to Carbon county
make it clear that that section of
Wyoming is within the next few
years to witness a wonderful de-
velopment. One great mine is
sufficient to maintain a consider
able population, but the extern
sive m~ineralized district along
the Wyoming Colorado line, it is
evident from the openings that
have already been made, will in
the rear future be supporting a
number of communities, large or
small, but the aggregate of which
it may confidently be stated will
be great.
With Saratoga as the center,
and a radius of say twenty-five
miles, a segment of a circle may
be drawn touching the most prom
Using mining locations, and it will
be observed that most of these are
on the head waters of streams
tributary to the North Platte.
An inevitable result of mining
operations without the restraints
of law is the pollution of the pub
lie waters. Clear creek in Gilpin
and Clear Greek counties in Colo
RADIO was at one time a crystal
stream; now the name is a misno-
mer, and the extensive and in
calculably valuable mining in
terests that have been built up in
those counties, the very existence
of which depends upon the abund-
ant supply of water from that val
liable stream, have become so firm
iy established that the agricultur-
lists who till thousands of acres
of land around the lower part of
the stream, between the foot hills
and the Platte river, have long
ago given up the unequal fight
against the miners.
The Gunnison river, before the
advent of the placer mine, was a
thing of beauty, but the pollution
of the stream through the opera
tions of a single placer mine at the
head of Tailor river, sixty miles
above, has become a not
only to the river as a trout stream,
but has rendered the waters of
that splendid stream unfit for do
mestic uses; and one of the legal
hattles now in prospect is "a fight
by the city of Gunnison against
the mining company to prevent
the destruction of its only water
supply
The Fish Commissioner of Col
orado has reported to the Govern
or that the debris from the hy-
drolics settles on the rocks in the
bed of the river, forming a coating
which destroys the insect life con-
stituting the only food of the fish
during the greater part of the
year.
1t is easy therefore to see that
the establishment of several min
/. ing camps on the head waters of
streams tributary to the North
Platte means the deilement of
the waters of that beautiful stream
to such an extent as not only TO
destroy all animal life in the riv-
er, but to unfit the waters for use
for domestic purposes. The min
ing towns. taking water from
above their mines and factories,
may be well supplied with the
purest of water; but towns lower
down the river, including SHrato-
ga and Rawlins both of which
must inevitably draw their water
supply in the near future from the
North Platte, will at once be put
upon the defensive; and once the
mining industries are established
without regulation by law, they
will become paramount and al.
~ Al- a.k