The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-05-18
THE FIRST MILL
STORY OF PIONEER
MONTANA QUARTZ WORKINGS.
PRIMITIVE HOME MADE AFFAIR
One Of the Old Stamps Now Serves as
An Anvil at Gibbonsvile-Built of
Wagon Tires and Scrap Iron
Pounded Out $4,000 in Three
Months Y. ork.
Especial to Inter Mountain

Especial to Inter Mountain.)
Dillon, May 1S.-In a paper prepared in
1879 by Major Walker on EARLY Quartz
Mining in Montana" appears the fol-
lowing reference to the first quartz mill
built in Montana:
The Dacotah lode, bearing gold
quartz, was discovered near Bannack
and located November II, 1852 The de-
composed quartz from the surface of
the vein was packed down from the hill
on which it was situated to the creek
land the gold panned out. A mill to
crush the quartz from this lode was
begun by William Arnold in the winter
Of 1862, and was finished by ]. +. Allen
the following spring. The motive power
was water. The stamp stems, four in
number, were made of wood, and the
shoes and dies were made of old wagon
tires cut and welded together. This
primitive affair was followed in 1863 by
the erection of other mills whics had
been transported from Colorado and the
east, and from that time to this the
gold mines at Bannack has given en-
ployment to several mills almost unin-
| terruptedly."
| One of these stamps found it's way
| to Gibbonsville, Idaho, after tn" lapse
| of number of years, and while porting
over lot of old exchanges last fall your
correspondent ran across the following
history of the old relic, prepared by
the Bozeman Courier:
AT Gibbonsville, Idaho, there is an
old hand made quartz mill stamp, which
is quite curiosity. 1t is one of five
which were made in Bannack City,
Montana (then Idaho), in 1862, by j. F.
Allen, ST., for mill that he built and
operated near there that year.
I'm 1861 party of eighteen-of which
! Mr.. Allen was one-Outfitted in Colorado
| for a prospecting tour into Montana
(then Idaho) in search of the precious
metals. Arriving in 1862 near Bannack,
which they afterwards named Grasshop-
per gulch, some of the party found
placer gold in considerable quantity and
after further prospecting the party de-
cided to locate there. They formed a
company, built cabins, whlp-sawed lum-
4 Der and made suice boes to work placer
4 mines, and made eighteen quartz loca-
tons, drawing numbers for the places
of their locations. Mr.. Allen was the
!! last one to draw, and shortly afterwards
sold his claim for $4,000, without even
having stuck a pick into the ground.
kAfter taking out about $4,000 from the
fEDlacers, one-half of the party was sent
No Salt Lake for additional supplies for
@he coming winter each being allowed
rvs per day while on the trip.
When the placers were worked out
: it was evident that some sort of mil
would have to be secured to work the
quartz properties. In the meantime
there had been quite a stampede to the
new 'Eldorado.' Among the newcomers
were number of blacksmiths, and the
miners tried to persuade them to make
the necessary stamps for the mill, but
none would undertake the task. Mr.
Allen being = machinist by trade, con-
cluded that he could master the propo.
sition, so he set up a shop. constructed
a large bellows, burned big pit Of
charcoal. secured an assistant an6
started to work. AS iron was a scarce
article there in those days, it had to bt
secured whenever and however possible
! and at no inconsiderable expense. Tit
material used in these stamps was al
most all wagon tires, which We're Gu
into strips eight inches long, heated ant