The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-06-26
A GREAT GRAVEL SCO0PER
It Penetrates to Depth Of 80 Feet
In Operation on Nine Mile.

On Nine Mile, gold dredge is in OPP
GRAFTON on a large scale. at presentenear
Martina. In its extent and the marvel
GUS manner that it goes into gold saving
and earth, gravel and stone handling
the machine is a marvel. 1t was recent
ly viewed by a representative of the. Mis-
soulian.
Christened Bessie M the dredge
stands working twentyfOur day and
seven days a week, an object demonstrat-
ing the sagacity and wisdom of it's own
ers. The Western Montana Placer 1Min-
ing company. Even with the immense
amount of ground that can be worked by
this ponderous machine in a day, the
company owns sufficient land to operate
it at it's present site for ten years.
It Is a Floating Mill.
AS it appears in working order the
dredge appears to be large mill. Float
ed on a double boat, 70x30 feet, are 100
tons of intricate machinery working the
various parts and operations of the APP
paratus. raising from the creek bed four
teen steel Tipped buckets every minute
and forcing this gravelly earth through
its machinery and therefrom saving gold.
to fineness that never has been excell
ed by any gold retaining device.
To maintain position above water
double five feet holds are built for
working basis. Erected on this buoy
is an inclined steel ladder capable Of
being raised or lowered at the instant
will of the operator. From the ladder,
which projects into the water to
point, there extends steel nose for
ward. Around a roller on this nose pass
the steel Tipped buckets, fourteen to the
minute, each raising above half cubic
yard Of earth on an endless chain to be
passed over the ladder.
A Park County Company Reports.
The annual report of the Milwaukee,
Montana Natural Bridge Gold and Cop
per Mining company was filed at Living
ston last week. The report declares the
principle offices of the corporation. out
side of the state of Montana to be To-
Gated at Sioux Falls, S. D., and Milwau-
kee, Wis. The capital stock is placed at
100000. $35, 562.7 Of which Is paid up
The assets of the company are: Ten
mining claims, valued at 2O,824.S9; mills
and machinery. $7,162.14: tenements
$125; cash on hand, $7,45091. There are
no liabilities.
It can Dive Deep and Pile High.
The dredge can dig to a depth of
thirty feet and stack the tailings to a
height Of twenty feet. Intricate in it's
parts, the plant maintains is own
fioatage. Included in it's machinery is
a main power engine, 1O0-horse power
boiler and 10-horse power dynamo,
furnishing electric lighting for the plant
throughout. In it's working day of twenty
four hours about 1000 cubic yards of
earth are handled. Three shifts of two
men each are engaged, increased by
dredging superintendent, Edward Block
ley, an expert from several years Of
handling similar plants, and a fuel man,
c. S. Crysler, the general manager and
treasurer of the company.
The plant in working order stands for
an outlay of about $4,000 in addition to
which the company has expended in ex-
cess Of 100000.
In addition to the dredge the company
has a large hydraulic mining plant, in
charge of M. s. Cook. To operate this a
flume $500 feet in length conveys an inn
mense pressure of water from a reservoir
maintained by dam holding the entire
waters of mountain stream. Recently
a cleanup was made of about $50 cubic
yards of ground and is said to have re-
moved 81 a yard.
In addition to the placer workings on
Nine Mile creek the company owns the
Lo Lo quartz mine near LO LO. On this
already about $4,000 has been spent in
development work, resulting in an ex-
preston from many who have examined
it that the mine will prove to be one Of