Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1903-04-01
Among the Mines
Devoted to the Large Min
ing Interests OF Fergus
County General Notes.

Reported Strike Near Bridqer


Reported Strike Near Bridger.
II the report from Bridger is to be
credited, Caribou county will yet
achieve fame as possessing gold
fields. Bridger has a man named j.
C. Woten who claims the power of
discovering underground streams of
water by means OF a branch of will
low. 1t is claimed he has located
many aquatic deposits. He was en-
gagged in digging down to where he
expected to find a large underground
stream, when he apparently ran into
the bed Of an old creek. which Is said
to be exceedingly rich in placer gold.
Every effort has been made to keep
the find secret, but a stampede is now
predicted.-Helena Record.
Tonopah a Promising Camp.
II is the opinion Of John N. Kirk,
the Butte lawyer who has just re-
turned from Tonopah, the new Ne
vada mining camp, that as soon as
water is piped into the town in suffi-
cient quantities to supply the mills
the reduction of ore and the output of
the place will fall little short Of start
ling the world. At present the lack
of water is a serious handicap to the
development of the mines on account
Of the necessity for water in the treat
ment of ores.
Mr.. Kirk says ore running below
800 per ton is looked upon as low
grade" something that would be rath-
er surprising in this section. This,
however, as stated, is on account OF
the scarcity of water. A scheme Is
on foot to pipe water into Tonopah,
a distance of so miles. IT will be an
expensive undertaking, but that is
necessary for the advancement OF the
camp.
The population of Tonopah at pres
ent is nearly 1000 and it is steadily
growing. The place is in the heart of
a desert at an elevation of over 5000
feet above the sea level. It is a tent
town, with the exception Of a few
frame and stone buildings. Few of the
mines have been opened to any great
extent, yet all e to make a re-
markable showing.
There are a number OF Montana
people operating there and they are
meeting with success. Three men re-
Gently formed a company with a cap
ital of 500, 900 to erect a reduction
plant. This will give an impetus to
tue camp.
81 believe that when the mines are
fully developed and there is a liberal
supply of water in that desert OF a
mining camp you will hear from Tono-
pah,' said the Butte attorney.-lnter-
Mountain.
Rich Strike in Idaho.
Oasis. Idaho, March 26.-There was
a great strike made here late last fall
in the Teton mountains, on Trail
creek, six miles east of the town OF
Victor. Several assays from as many
different claims, run from SIS to $54
Der ton in gold. The formation Is
granite and porphyry, the latter a r
rying the lodges which are large and
well defined, with gold, silver, copper
and lead, the gold predominating.
There also is a belt OF free gold ore
running parallel with this which, ac-
cording to assays, carries gold only.
values running from $40 to $39.7O.
and improving with depth. 1t resem-
bles the Homestake ore in the Black
Hills only carrying higher values.
These bodies of ore seem to be well
l.a-.a H., porphyrv wallo have
seen several specimens of free gold
that have been broken of the crop
pings of these lodges. One piece Of
ore weighing about four pounds was
completely charged with free gold.
This mineral belt runs north, east and
southwest, and can be traced for 20
miles in length. The ground any
where on the belt will give colors
from the grass roots down. One
claim, the Lucky Boy, has just been
bonded for $4,000, $4,000 paid down.
This is a placer claim.
II. II. Cole and l.. E. Moody, min
ing experts from Boise and Thunder
Mountain, who are here in the inter
est of their company, say the future
of the camp will depend on the quartz
more than the placers, and they be-
lieve il will develop into n OF the
greatest gold and copper camps in
the known world. So far there are
about $50 claims staked off, but no
doubt there will be several thousand
by the time the snow is gone, which
will be about June l..
Anthracite In Choteau.
Havre, March 3O.-A. G. Staten has
discovered a rich anthracite coal mine
about ten miles south of Havre. The