Gilpin observer., 1905-08-17
NEWS FROM The MINES and MILLS
Nederland and It. Tungsten.

Nederlano ana Ite Tungsten.
The following from Nederland, in
Boulder county, appears in the Den
yer News:
Associated with the mill operated by
the Wolf Tongue Mining Company is
an interesting piece of local history
The present plant occupies the site of
the once splendid machinery which
run the silver and gold bricks from the
Caribou ore belt in the early seventies.
At that period Colorado was noted in
the financial world as the "Silver
State" In 1873 General Grant made
his first visit to the Rockies, and stop
ping at Central City, as he alighted
from the stage his feet trod on a path
way of solid silver leading up to the
door of the Teller house, where the
party was entertained. This pathway
was made of silver bricks, each one
weighing over 100 pounds, nodded at
the Nederland mill by w. C. Bryant of
this city. The bricks were sent to Cen
trail City by way Of Black Hawk over
the wagon route, and delivered to the
committee on entertainment. The
writer was shown to-day stereopticon
view of these bricks taken after they
were returned here, with the genial
The picture is in possession of Mrs.
Bryant, who, with her lips withered
by age and sorrow, still proudly tells of
her deceased husbands part in doing
honor to Americas warrior statesman.
But nothing in this world can last,
and where once was the grand old sill
yer mill now stands the modern and
improved plant of the Wolf-Tongue
Mining Company. Then, as now, Ne
derland was the center of the mining
interests of Boulder county. Then her
fame was only local-now it is world
wide. Wherever the great steel mag
mates of the earth operate with tung-
stem, Nederland is known as the cen
ter of the Colorado belt. This belt is
about fourteen miles in length and four
or five IL width, extending along the
hills or canon of Middle Boulder creek.
The price of tungsten continues firm,
and the present demand far exceeds
the known supply, though students of
'metallurgy agree in saying that there
has been an increase of seventy-five
per cent. in the worlds tungsten out
put within the last three years-since
its discovery in Boulder county, in
fact. With all the great steel COM
panies trying to get possession of the
metal, and with the Nederland fields
yielding the greatest amount, it is safe
to predict great future for this place.
A noted mineralogist of Denver
who visited here recently, was heard
to say that the gold Golfers of a Car
negie or Rockefeller could not equal
these mines. The great difficulty in
the way of small capitalists is the num-
bers of acres of patented land in this
district, most of which ras until very
recently been closed to small specula-
tors. At present there are three large
tracts-the Grow, the Barker and the
Rogers-which are open to leasers.
These do not include the property of
the Wolf-Tongue Mining and Milling
Company, or number of claims owned
and worked by private parties. Leas-
ing on the Barker patent has been at
tended with excellent results, and also
on land owned by Neresheimer of Boul-
der. On the latter two miners of Ne
derland have within the past six
months on a lease without bond
cleared up something over $4,000 each.
AS mining on the surface is compara-
lively easy, much exploiting for deep
or large veins has been neglected, ex-
cept by the big companies.
Someone has inquired concerning
the appearance of tungsten concen-
trates. The specimens shown the
writer at the Wolf-Tongue mill, and
also bottled specimens from other
sources, resemble nothing SO much as
old-fashioned granules of gunpowder.
The word tungsten is a Swedish COM
pound, meaning literally "heavy stone."
The early prospectors when hunting
the precious metals found this heavy,
chunky black ore, and threw it aside
as worthless, being entirely ignorant
Of it's commercial or chemical value.
In walking over the mountains any
number of deserted shafts can be seen
near which may be a fine wolfram
blowout" made by nature.
While the town of Nederland, aside
from it's mineral advantages, is re-
markable for it's picturesque and sani-
tary position, 1t is poorly equipped
with living or business accommoda-
tions. building boom has just
struck it, and some new houses and
blocks are going up. 1t has two ho-
tells and numerous private boarding
houses, all of which are crowded to the
limit. Tourists and spectators are
coming in daily over the Switzerland,
the Moffat railroad, or up Boulder
canon. No visitor to the Chautauqua
regards the term complete without a
view of the Eagle rock, with its eerie,
shelved in inaccessible heights, or the
majestic dome of Castle rock-or the
far-famed perfect tree" pictured all
over the world. This is fir cube of
solid foliage. sloping as gracefully and
smoothly to its apex as any piece OF
landscape carving In the forest of Yer
sailles. All these things lead the tour.
list. the dreamer, the prospector, to
Nederland.
The report comes from Laramie that
the result of working test recently
made by j. ID. Negus of Chicago on
the home placer grounds, in the Doug