Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-07-28
GLADSTONE

one oil the widest beauty spots o
Colorado is the seat of the little tow
oi Gladstone, and very little town i
= Is, with its dozen log cabins and tents
lts saloon and general merchandis,
store. That is all it contains within
It's rugged mountain basin. except tn,
mill buildings of the great and famous
Gold King mine. and they form vii
lage by themselves close upon the
mountain side. The ride to Gladstone
is weird and lovely. as are all these
mountain scenes. On the morning oi
our visit picnic party went up from
Silverton. the guests of Mrs w L.
Kinney. wife of the genial manager
of the Gold King Consolidated Mining
company's property. The train with
its combination baggage and passen-
ger coach. was entirely inadequate to
the occasion. and two OF the freight
cars were used by the merry picnick.
ers. who numbered about one hun
dred, and here is the place to remark
that freight cars make the finest OBJ
servation cars on rec ord. fresh air and
an unlimited view OF the scenery be-
ing obtainable at the same time
Those who travelled by freight on the
Saturday of the picnic enjoyed their
ride to the utmost. Many happy Mann
1nas We're along with their little ones.
, and the cars We're lively with laugh
ter and talk. as we were borne through
the beautiful country. where mount
aims rise high on both sides, covered
with their arrow-like pines and
spruces. where valleys lay in tangled
underground; where the rushing river
poured over its rocks toward the dis
tant sea. and the sunny Colorado
skies smiled kindly upon all The
further one goes into these glorious
mountains, the grander the scenes.
Here and there in the silent wilder
ness hole in the mountain side show
ed where the prospector had been, and
log cabin perched near by in some
sheltered spot gave IA romantic and
homelike touch to the scene.
This tiny town of Gladstone. which.
at first sight. it seems few hours
might suffice to explore through every
nook and corner, really requires as
many days to thoroughly go over Nh
Bowman's store and resort are the
rendezvous of hundreds of miners
from the hills around. and Fred Gre
bles' boarding house, with its dainty
and sumptuously equipped dining
room, good enough in all its appoint
ments for a first class hotel. supplies
large number of mill men with their
three meals day.
The mill is one of the largest in the
section. In its work and furnishings
nf lint n
other structures of its class. but every
thing at the Gold King is conducted
on large scale A few years ago il
started with one small boiler 1t has
grown steadily as year by year the
rich output from the company's mines
has increased until now seven great
engines and boilers are putting and
roaring day and night requiring the
constant attendance OF a man to feed
and regulate them. Above stairs al
most numberless tables are at work
separating the gold and lead and iron
and copper from its native rock, which
the water carries away. Even the
shines or waste product. contains
much of the valuable ore, and there
are tables where the mud is washed
dered metal Further up. the crude
ore comes rushing down through the
chutes to the machinery. where it is
ground and powdered for the tables,
and at the very top OF the building the
rock as il comes from the mine is emp
tied from the buckets and sent down
through a tunnel to its places of dis
integration. On this floor also is the
terminal for the tramway, that won
derful system of locomotion between
mine and mill, the saver of untold
time and money. Regularly into one
side of the building comes the ore
laden iron basket from the mine
Travelling around the motor it is
stopped by the man on guard, its con
tents emptied down the chute and
the empty basket passed on, wheels
clinging to the stationary wire above.
its clamp fastened to the motor wire
below. back to the mine to be refiled
and sent down again on its mission.
The buckets are numbered and come
down in regular order. The Gold
} King tram is long and high proceeding
from the terminal. it ascends a steep
mountain side, and crosses span
1000 feet long between the towers and
500 feet high, before it reaches its
destination at the mine. 1t is said
that the Gold King tram is very Sc
cure and there has never been an ac-
cident on it. A former passenger on
the line related an experience which
might cause the flesh of the uninitiat-
ed to creep. so to speak. He was
well known to the parties who run the
tram. and, wishing to play little
joke on him. the man at the mill
terminal, telephoned to the mine that
he was coming. In the middle of the
long. high span the bucket stopped
and hung there stationary, above the
valley. for fully ten minutes. Mean
while the passenger amused himself
by dropping pencil, handkerchief etc,
over the side of the bucket, and watch
them spin and whir in the air, until
they dwindled into tiny specks. and
were lost to sight before they reach
ed the ground. When the wind blows,
the buckets sway from side to side to