Gilpin observer., 1904-11-24
TWIN LAKES DISTRICT.
Review Of Its History, Prospects and
+, Requirements.

mining in some districts in Colorado is
mense amount of work which has evil
IDENTIFY been done where rich veins of
ores are known to exist. Twin Lakes is
good example of this, says the Lead
Vile Herald-Democrat.
The Twin Lakes mining district
covers the region drained by Lake
creek, starting In Chaffee county and
extending through Lake county to the
Arkansas river at Granite. The area
embraced in the district is more than
one hundred square miles and taking
in some OF the outlying gulches may
be safely estimated at one hundred
and twenty square miles. Within this
region there are numberless veins of
mineral many of which have been
opened up and from a few of which
ore has been shipped which returned
large values. One of the famous mines
of the state, the Gordon-Bengal Tiger,
is located in this region. This mine
has produced half million dollars and
could produce several times that
amount if the property can be relieved
from the burden OF litigation which has
smothered it during recent years.
Some twenty companies are now op-
Grating in the Twin Lakes region in
the central part of the district and
there are several hundred properties
scattered around in the gulches and
along the slopes of the mountains
which are in the hands of individual
operators which are as yet in the pros
pect stage, but which are in very prom
Using localities.
Prospecting and mining have been
carried on in the Twin Lakes district
for more than twenty years The
slopes of every hill in the district are
dotted with the little dumps which
mark the prospect holes where lonely
prospectors have dug a few feet into
the hills. Here and there throughout
the district there are buildings more
or less imposing; some in good condi-
lion, we'll built mills containing stamp
outfits or concentrating plants. about
which are grouped staunchly con-
structed cabins and roomy boarding
houses, some of which are still fur
nished for living purposes; some of
the mills and cabins are dilapidated
and ruined piles of logs and lumber.
the stamp mills eaten with the accu-
mulated rust of a decade of winters.
Here and there about the district one
will find well-built and fully-equipped
surface plant standing at the mouth of
tunnel Going into the adit one will
find a vein showing through hundreds
of feet of drifting; slopes where rich
ore has been taken out; rust-eaten
rails, picks, drills, candlesticks and oc-
casionally a mine car; all the evidences
of a mine and of intelligent mining.
but the engine is dead and the wind
beating the blackened smokestack and
swaying guy wires over the surface
plants, howls a mournful requiem over
the burial place of the hopes of some
unfortunate group of eastern invest
OrS.
The trouble with the Twin Lakes
district has always been, not the lack
of ore, not the barrenness of tanta-
lizing formations which promised much
and yielded nothing. but the lack of in
telligent and legitimate mining enter
prise. One has only to visit the camp.
to go to some of the hundreds of de-
serted mines and prospects. to consider
the history of some of the companies
which have operated in that district
and talk with some of the more pro-
gressive mining men now engaged
around Twin Lakes, to realize that
there is not camp anywhere in the
innate development The formation
all over the district encourages mining.
The veins which have been found and
from which ore has been shipped prove
the value of the territory.
The veins are true fissures carrying
gold. silver. copper, lead and iron.
Free gold has been found in large guam
titles in several places. The Gordon
produced considerable of the yellow
metal, one stope alone in that mine
yielding several hundred sacks of ore
containing free gold and running as
high as $1,000 to the sack. There are
formations found in other properties
which resemble the Gordon ore so
closely that those who are now pur-
suing operations in that vicinity have
reasonable hopes of striking good
veins.
Most OF the prospecting which has
been done In the district, especially
that part OF it which lies in Lake coun-
ty, has been done at random. Small
tunnels have been started and aban-
doned before sufficient depth has been
attained to gain any good results. The
work has been abandoned and new
work started in some other locality
which in turn has been abandoned for
another tunnel site. Consequent upon
this method of prospecting, discour-
aging reports have been sent out
which have the effect of disheartening
the investor. A number Of properties
on which large amounts of money have
been expended have been abandoned
because the stockholders grew weary
OF putting up their money without see
ing any results. The average investor
in western mines does not understand
the local conditions in the mining dis
trict and cannot help himself He does
not know that II the desultory and vac
Hating system of gophering which Is
eating up his investment. is abandoned
his property may be made into n good
mine. He becomes sick OF the mining
.lA nd Aha diuIr ricf ciIffars In