Idaho Springs siftings., 1904-01-09
MERRILL ELATED.
SECRETARY OF BIG FIVE FEDERATION
VISITS CENTRAL TUNNEL.
RECORD DRIVING AND FINE ORE.
OUTLINES EXTENSIVE DEvEtoPMEk
WORK UPON VEINS CUT.

Secretary n. {. Merrill of the Big Five
federation, was up here last Tuesday
gathering data as to progress i'll the
Central tunnel and the sho~ings in the
Edgar, He found very satisfactory
condition all around. The tunnel con-
tractor is this month starting out at
pace that promises to eclipse all records
and there is a continual showing of
mlneralized rock in the bore, indicating
III At 1t is penetrating a very prolific
ence to be intersected is the Bryan, and
that will take place this month. in all
probability. Then will come the Crystal
upon which 3oooft. level will be ex-
tended east to get action upon the noted
pocket in Virginia canon. Mr. Merrill
stated that he had hopes that in the 5000
feet of drifting other pockets would be
struck. but in any event he considered
that the Crystals reputation for ore
justified the extension of This level And
from that point IT is not improbable that,
IN the event the Big Five secures owner
ship of contiguous producers, that CON
nection will be made Herewith through
drifts or crosscuts. The federation has
started out to mine upon a scale of con-
tinualiy growing magnitude, it appears.
Mr.. Merrill naturally feels elated upon
the completion of the Gem upraise, as he
wisely considers tha, the good fortune
and striking success of the Gem people
affects every citizen and enterprise in the
Idaho Springs district. 1t directly con-
Germs the Big Five, il may be said, for
the main holdings of the Gem people are
but the continuation east of the Doves
Nest and Bellman mines. the property OF
the Big Five federation aud for which the
Central tunnel is being driven. The
the Windsor Castle ground, another of
the holdings of the federation. and from
there to the Bellman and Doves Nest
could be reached by drifting upon the
vein. The bodies of ore already opened
in the two properties mentioned are such
as to warrant that with the depth attained
by the Central tunnel the Gem will have
a formidable rival
In the Edgar vein con siderable mineral
is being extracted by the differen, sets of
leasers The Hickman lease in block 10.
east of the tunnel, is at presen, sh wing
finely, Superintendent S'ewart ha,ing
that day in evidence some very pretty
solid ore taken out The VIM is now 90
feet in depth and levels have b en- started.
Some good shipments will soJn be in
order
Mr.. Merrill s'ates that i55 cars Of
smelling and concentrating ore were
shipped during the month of December,
1908, from the Idaho Springs and Francis
mines belonging TO the federation. One
car from the Dew Drop mine net:ed $50
| per ton.
On Wednesday of this week contract
was let to drive the Central tunnel levels
of the Edgar, east and west each TOO
I f. ct. snI TOR an upraise on the vein at the
end of the west 100 feet, work to begin
a ohce.
! The breast of the tunnel on "Wednesday
was 27oo feet from the portal. Mr.. Mer-
rill is enthusiastic in his praise OF $. A.
/ Knowles. the contractor. who is making
exceptionally good headway and per
foi ming the work i'll a first class manner
! The Shaff,er vein will be reached about
July Ist.
Mr.. Merrill also is taking lively in
terest in the proposition to erect new
hotel in this city. He argues that no
matter who builds the hotel, the effect
will be beneficial to the Big Five stock
holders in the mineral springs property.
When the federation acquired the springs
he and the other prominent members of
the company felt that by this time.
through their efforts, Idaho Springs
would have one Of the finest hotels in the
land and something that would draw the
trade of the travelling public in general.
But they found that it was easier to float
a million dollar mining proposition thar
a SIoo, 600 hotel proposition. Through
these efforts, however, he gathered some
ideas that possess considerable merit.
The main one, is that the building should
not cost less than $780, 900 and should be
absolutely fire proof.
| Mr.. Merrill returned to Denver
Thursday.
Local Red Men will give public rails