Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1901-11-11
Under GROUND
Eleven Hundred Feet...fiOw
Gold Is Extracted from
the Bowels of the
Black Hills.
LEAD, SoUTH OAK. y
Correspondence Richmond Palladium;

LEAD, SoUTH OAK, Nov. 3
In former letter | gave a short
and hurried description of the Black
Hills country as seen by tender
foot, and months stay in the hills
has changed my ideas somewhat, and
led me to believe that South Dakota
at least is not responsible for all the
bad weather she has been accused of
brewing. Back in Indiana when a
particular bad piece of weather
strikes US, regular twister. it is
the accepted idea that we are having
a regular Dakota blizzard, when
as q matter of ia ct October, Novem-
Der and December are ideal Indian
summer months in South Dakota,
and the high altitude, nearly 5000
feet, makes life luxury.
In the hill country little attention
is paid to agriculture, though no
better Irish potatoes are grown in
the world than in any part
OF this state. Nothing is talked
of here but mining and min
ing claims and the hotels are fall of
eastern capitalists seeking in
vestmec tS-
The 8stF Hills r.srs 5o,rth IN the
production of gold in the United
States, it's product for the year 1900
being six million dollars. That this
amount will be largely increased
there can be no doubt. The Home
stake company, which is the largest
and best equipped in the world, has
two new mills almost complete, each
to contain 200 stamps, which will
give them 800 stamps. Each stan. p
will reduce four tons of ore every
twenty four hours.
Until recently for every ton of ore
milled, one dollars worth of gold
escaped and was carried off in the
refuse. The new cyanide process.
however, saves all this and practic-
ally saves all the precious minerals,
which means a large saving
in gold and silver.
The Black Hills ore is what is
known as low grade ore, running
from 81 to $50 per ton. The rock
in which it is contained is of red
dish sand stone color, and with the
improved method can be milled at
cost of 81. .25 per ton, and from all ap-
pearances the ore is inexhaustible
1000 men and its pay roll is one hun
dred and fifty thousand dollars every
month in the year.
/ wonder If your readers would be
interested in short description Of
how gold is produced in the Black
Hills. At any rate and at the risk
of being prosy l will try and des-
cribe what a novice saw and how it
looked to one who had heard so much
about such matters and found he
knew so little.
Under the guidance and protection
of Mr.. George Northam the company 5
right hand man as guard, detective
and general purpose man, and his
deputy, Harry Tier, both being tvpi
cal old time frontiersmen. gentlemen
in every sense and handy with gun,
with passport from Mr.. T. ]. Grier,
the coTapany's gentlemanly aud
courteous general manager, we
started to do the mining act which
proved exceedingly interesting from
start to finish and ended in gold
brick scheme.
Down in a-not a coal but gold
mine we drop eleven hundred feet in
an elevator shaft. The descent and
ascent reminded me vividly of the old
darkey story at Vicksburg during
the siege in '63.
Our men had tunneled under one
of the rebel forts and with several
tons of powder blew it up. An old
gray headed darkey CHANGED to be in
the fort at the time Of the explosion
and was hoisted 40 or 80 feet in
the air and came down in our lines
without much injury to himself.
When asked how it felt Re s. |, II
tells you marsa, hit seems
like war nebber gwine
ter quit going up, but I comes down
powerful quick like.
In this 110O-foot shaft there are
three shifts, or what is known as the
40 and 100 foot levels; from these
n