The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1906-08-25
Shaftsr is in Shape-

Last TUESDAY AFTERNOON AT 50 o SlbSk
the inh habitauts of this city we're aroused
from thei- l-thsrgy BY the blowing Of
the big whistle ou the Central tunnel
power plant, the turning in of an alarm
of fire and the blasting Of fifty pounds
of dynamite. This conglomera,ion Of
of racket was the method adopted by
the employees of the Shaftsr mine
in celebrating the successful connec-
,ion between the level from the bot
tom Of the Shsfter shaft aud the up
raise from the lateral from the Central
tunnel.
For several days previous the v;bra-
tons OF the machine drills could be
heard BY the workmen IN. the seventh
level drift aud the miners working in
the upraise. and some apprehension
was felt for the safety OF the wen.
A 7-foot driiI during the forenoon how
ever, broke through the wall of rock
and . sfoot round of holes when
blasted shortly after O'Clock made
the connection. Af,er the blast was
fred Thomas Onlto1 follow ed by
Foreman c. V. Walker. climbed down
the shaft into the level and through
the connection and came out Of the
Central tunnel, after which TIE COM
ple,iou of he work WAS announced by
the enthusiastic bunca by means of
bombs and the Central tuauel whistle.
The lateral on the Shatter vein was
started over = year ago at poin; OF
I.7oo feet. or seven eishths of mile
in from The portal of the Central tun
mel. 1t has been driven west ,2Io feet,
and at point 100 feet feet back from
the breast the raise was started. At
height of 1873 feet the connection was
made with the east drift from the TOO
foot level of the Shafter mise.
Both in driving the lateral and max
ing the upraise, magnificent body of
milling and smelling ore has b. en- opened
up, which i, believed 10 be the continu
alton Il the mlin ore shoot of the mine
which has prodacet, over 100000 in
gold bullion. Now that ventilation has
peen secured along with easy access
10 the ore, a sufficiently large tonnage
viii be extracted to keep a. least two
batteries of stamps on the Hudson mill
steadily engaged. The latter mill Is
connected with the Central tunnel by a
lramway along the south side OF Clear
Creek and the ore can be dumped d-
recly in O the mill bins from the mine
,Nnss;tta hi
treatment of much lower grade OF ore
than couid be handled otherwise.
The Shafter mine was discovered and
located by Peter Tho oaid, in The fall of
1854. In company with Jack Baker,
who had been grub staked by Shafter
and Theobald, VINO were then conduct
ing a grocery sore, Mr. Theobald was
Neturngng from trip to the south slope
Of Bellevue mountain. Coming over
he brow of the hill into Hukill 2ulch
tie protrudiDg rock attracted their at
ten ion, and picking away large chunk
OF quartz, which rolled down the side of
OF the hill and several smaller ones they
were found to DE covered with specks OF
gold lhey worked on the discovery
until uightfsll, when they hid their tools
under some brush and went home re
turning early the next morning. Ten
tons Of the ore was treated in an aras,ra
mill on Clear Creek operated by q man
by the name of fhackery, and the ten
tons returned Il ounces of gold to the
ton. The mine was sold in 1879 for
s2S, 900.
Phil Mixsell the veteran mill man,
treated the Shafter ores for nearly
20 years, during which time his records
snow he milled over $1,000 ton, of the
ore, which Welded little over f4oo, 600.
The crude ore averaged IS per ton, of
which about 81 per cent was saved 10
the mill in the form of gold bullion,