, 1901-06-01
HISTORIC
MINE IN PURGATORY GUlCH,
NEAR GRAND ENCAMPMENT
CHANGES HANDS.
The Golden Eagle Mine, the Real
Cause Of the Opening of the Grand
Encampment District-Formerly
Owned BY English Syndicate
Several Thousand Dollars Worth
of Gold Ore Taken Out.

The following dispatch from Grand
Encampment to the Denver Post tells
the story Of one of the most historic
mining properties in Wyoming:
The Golden Eagle mine in Purga-
tory gulch, five miles south of here,
has become the property of w. c. Hen
ry & Co, bankers of this place. This
is perhaps the most historic mining
property in the state of Wyoming. II
was formerly owned by Sir Seaton-
Carr and an English syndicate and was
the real cause of the opening of the
Grand Encampment mining district
four years ago. At that time Sir Sea
ton-Carr, who had been in the Sierra
Madre mountains on a deer and elk
hunting expedition, took possession Of
the property because of the finding of
some very rich gold bearing quartz
along Purgatory creek in it's vicinity.
He at once organized a company, and
with strong English backing, started a
tunnel which was driven into the
mountain some six or seven hundred
feet. On the top of this mountain a
small vein Of high grade free milling
gold ore was found.
In a prospect shaft, only sixteen feet
in depth, several thousand dollars
worth of gold ore was mined. Some
of it was shipped to England and found
to give mill returns running sometimes
in the n~eighborhood Of 81, 1000 to the
ton. The shaft was sunk to a depth of
so or 60 feet and the vein seemed to
grow richer with depth until it sudden
'ly faulted and was lost.
After a number of crosscuts and 9th
err work the search for it was aban-
doned and the tunnel at the foot of the
hill pushed on with the hope of en-
%countering it at depth. In this tunnel
several veins of gold bearing quartz
have been encountered. but none OF
them have ore rich enough to justify
shipment, owing to the long wagon
haul to a railroad.
During the original excitement over
the Golden Eagle a large white quartz
boulder was found near the property,
which resembled very closely the
quartz in the Golden Eagle shaft. 1t
was in diameter perhaps as large as
the wheel of an ordinary farm wagon
and was thought to weigh about seven
tons. A party Of mining men applied
dynatime to it, and it was blown to
pieces.
1t was a honey-combed quartz and
in the pockets were found many beau
tiful specimens of free gold. some of
which contained particles of free gold
larger than the head of an ordinary
pin and a few pieces We're found con
tanning handsome particles of wire
gold.
More than twenty people were in
the party wien the boulder was blown
to pieces. many of whom were from
Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek.
The ore was sacked and divided among
the party. Numerous assay were at
once made and none of these showed
gold values less than $4,000 to the ton.
The news of this discovery was soon
sent abroad and the Purgatory Gulch
country was rife with excitement.
This was the first real influx of pros
pectors into the Grand Encampment
country, and the Golden Eagle is there
fore considered the pioneer mine of
the district, although both the Rambler
and the Kurtz-C hatterton, to the west
of it, had been discovered many years
before.
The new owners of the Golden Eagle
have changed is name to the FL Rey
and have incorporated the group of
claims into the FL Rey Gold and Cop
per Mining company, with 81 900, 900
capitalization. 1t has ample financial
backing and is 10Y arranging to do eX-
~tensive development work, and will in
stall a plant of machinery and erect a
number OF mining buildings.
The property already has some IL to
Is complete buildings consisting of
ore. bunk and mess houses and cot
tages. With the completion of the
Grand Encampment smelter, which
will furnish local treatment, the prop
erty will undoubtedly become a pay
ing mine.