New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-11-08
GOLD IN BLACK HILLS.
Fluctuations of Stock Market Are
Not Needed There.

Lead. s. d. Nov. neutrality-suspicious. in the
market value OF Industrial securities does not
affect the chief business OF the Black Hills for in
bringing gold out OF the earth the miners are pro-
ducing the standard OF value itself. The Black
Hills are Klondike. with miles OF auriferous
beach. and work the low grade ore bodies prop
erly large investments OF capital reQuirS: but
the veins big. and paying body once well de-
veloped gives steady and fairly returns. The
Introduction OF the cyanide and chlornation proc
with their capacities for treating refractory
ore and for saving the small percentage Of the
precious metal formerly wasted by free milling has
meant much TO the mining regions OF South Da-
kots Incidentally It has robbed the miner out OF
JOB OF sure source Of income for the taiiings.
the waste from the big stamp mills are now being
sent by pipe lines TO the cyanide plants. instead OF
being turned into the creek bottoms for the miners
to wash oct for placer gold.
The Black Hills. though only a stretch OF coun-
try some one hundred and twenty miles long By
sixty wide. is the third largest producer Of the
god fields Of the world. And yet the from
8 10 SIS a ton with the average much nearer the
lover figure. OF course this means that the mines
must be run a large scale. and the large sums
OF Eastern capital invested in and near Lead show
that there is abundant faith in the low grade
proposition.
Rich ore is rare. Now and then there is some
lucky prospectCr. like Otto 2. III Grant,, the Ger
pecJine in tn West. took out ore from claim near
Lead that aSsaved high $500 10 the ton
But such cases are not frequent.
Mining "a the Black Hills shows more plainly
than usual the importance OF modern methods. The
pioneers found placer mining profitable in the
creek beds. then the quartz seemed 4 good paying
proposition. and yielded about $50 a ton when
crushed the dry stamp mill But this lasted only
4 little while: then the ore became refractory and
OF lower grade and only the introduction Of mod
methods has meant prosperity TO the South
has been than s-31VRes5, out CT which one
mine has paid some 100000 IL dividends
The labor question gives this city little or no
trouble. There is miners union in town but
long as the superintendent Of the strongest mining
coupauy in the district continues 10 hold mort
ga re the unions hall strikes are not expected
in some OF the other towns IN the Hills, however,
the miners unions are strong. and. as IN Butte, il
get Job. Wages are excellent. and prices nigh.
When the free postal delivery was begun in Lead
in SeDreU Der. 1892. IL was for time doubtful
whether any applicants could be found TO work for
Southwest. copper COINS are practically unknown,
and are accepted only at the bank and the post
Office The latter institution does not far az
sell G couple OF two-Cent stamps for FIVE cents
but stamps and postal card OF cent
stamp are the usual return for nickel
Lead Is beginning 10 call itself metropolis, but
long there is practically no house in town
where the continual roar OF the stamp mills does
visitor that he is in anything but a typical mining
town Of twenty years ago. preserved by some
mysterious Cispe-SatlOn. When the burlington
started its station IL town TO mark the entrance
Of its broad gauge railroad from Deadwood, pay
rock discovered beneath the site or the station,
and the terminal was moved further up town on
the principal residential street Is house the
foundation and boundary wall OF which were built
OF rock that. since the new processes have been IN
tro5uced. has been found TO contain high grade
refractory ore Il does not pay TO tear the house
down get the out. Il remains q very
tangible asset for the owner