Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1903-06-03
Eerous Still in the Lead.

FCTAu1 III tI JIG IGddH
The receipts Of gold and silver at
the United States office at Helena for
May showed a material increase ov-
er those for the same month last year.
Last month the Helena Office receiv-
ed $~1S4,59S.14 in gold and sS70.27 in
silver, a total of s1S5,S2S.41, as COM
pared with a total of S153, 402.67 for
May last year. In May, 1902, the Of
fee received $152,297.7S In gold and
$1,104.S9 in silver.
Montana mines sent to the Helena
Office last month 1852 ,451.59.
Last year Lewis and Clarke county
occupied first place in the gold pro-
ducing counties of the state. 1t fell
to third place last month. The fol-
lowing table shows the receipts of the
three chief gould producing counties
of the state for 1903 and 1902:
1903. 1902.
Fergus f. ID. ...... S95, 1859 $40, 082.S5
Madison =. $50. 23,276.20 12,427.99
Lewis and Clarke 81, 523.24 34,090.26
Fergus county has shown a remark
able gain in less than a year. This is
due to the fact that a number OF
mills there are now working at prac-
tically their full capacity. The gold
producing ores of Fergus county are
practically all adapted to the cyanide
process, and nowhere In the state Is
that process used so extensively as
there. State Representative e. W.
King, one of the owners of the Barnes
King group, a large producer, and
heavily interested In other large prop
ositions, who was in Helena last week
said to the Record there was every
reason to expect a still larger output
from Fergus county.
Large outputs will be the rule in
Fergus county during the future" he
said. I'VE have immense r bodies
there, and the ores may be treated
with success by the cyanide process.
The tonnage will be increased with
development and gradually new mills
will be built and the capacity of old
ones added to until the gold produc-
ton of the county will be much larger
than 1t is at the present time"
Madison county also shows a mater
ial gain in its production over last
year. New mines have been opened
up in that county and old ones are
producing more heavily than before.
The production of Lewis and Clarke
county was light last month owing
largely to the fact that the Bald Butte
mill was closed down. Development
work in that property, however, is
disclosing large ore bodies, and when
the mill is again running at full ca
pacity, this county will probably step
up to second place in the list of gold
producing counties of the state.
Mining at the Worlds Fair.
The public Is already familiar with
the general fact that the scope and
the financial resources Of the ap-
preaching st. Louis Worlds Fair are
much larger than those Of any Of the
preceding great expositions; and both
the visitor and the exhibitor, when he
comes to st. Louis In 1904. will find
1t to be a real worlds fair, with exhib'
its and visitors from every known
country.
Passing over the subject, as to the
general exposition, with this brief
statement, | ask your attention to the
consideration of a few important facts
connected with the proposed mining
exhibits at this exposition. First of
all, | may say that reading and writ
ing rooms and library facilities will
be furnished in the Mines building
for miners and mining engineers, and
II is expected that when they visit
the exposition they will make these
rooms their headquarters, and give
the chief of the department and his
assistants an opportunity to extend
to them such courtesies as may be
possible.
One of the exhibits in the mines de-
partment will consist of models and
maps arranged to show the nature
and extent of the mining operations
in the United States at the time OF
the purchase of the Louisiana terri.
tory in 1903. the event which this ex.
position commentaries. OF course,
the industry was then In its infancy,
and the exhibit will necessarily be a
small one. But since that time the
United States has expanded under.
ground almost as rapidly as 1t has
above ground. II will be n OF the
great purposes Of the mines depart
ment OF the exposition to show the
nature and extent of this underground
expansion, the equipment used in the
mining operations of today, and the
me~tallurgical equipment and process
es employed in the preparation oil