Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1906-12-08
BLACK HILLS TIN.
DR.. Carpenter Recalls Some Interesting
Facts About the TIN of Early Days.

Part of this is here produced:
Tin mining in the Black Hills with
the price at fifty.two cents per pound in
1906 is a very different proposition from
what it was in the SOS when tin sold at
eighteen cents. Added to the increased
price are the many improvements in
mining machinery and the decline in
the cost of dynamite, SO that, all things
considered, ten pounds of tin per ton of
ore mined is now as valuable as four
times what it was when the Harney Peak
Tin Mining company was first launched.
The writer believes that within five
years tin mining will be an industry in
the Black Hills second in rank to gold
mining.
'The old adage that if you give dog
a bad name, you might just as well kill
him applies to tin mining all over Am
erica. We have tin swindles in Caifor-
MIA, Canada, in North Carolina, Texas,
aud in the Black Hills. / have heard
mining engineers in good standing hoot
at the existence of tin in the Black Hills
while capitalists smile sadly or openly
denounce q man as a swindler if he asks
them to become interested. Rightly or
wrongly the impression prevails that tin
in the Black Hills is a fake, pure and
simple.
1T is useless TO go into the past his
tory of the Harney Peak Fin Mining
company, if for no other reason than
that the principles are dead The com
pany's assets are yet in the hands of a
receiver and the fight between the Eng.
lish stockholders and the American pro-
moter still goes bravely on, but it never
comes to a show down. Both sides are
represented and the receiver, DR.. A. Il.
Ledoux, is a man Of high rank. The
point that troubles many Of us is, why
cannot these gentlemen settle on some
basis and proceed to prove the value of
the property?
"My acquaintance with these tin dis
coyeries began in 1886, and has continu
ed TO the present time l may say in
passing that / 30 not own tin claim,
nor ever did; but rs the dean of the fac
ulty Of the School of Mines of Dakota,
fully examined the deposits and pub
lished many papers on the subject. |
built a concentrating plant at the school
with especial reference 10 tin. i took
the ore there by the ton and concentrat-
ed it, and ran the concentrates into bars,
so that | may say know something
about the subject.
The existence Of tin in the Hills was
made known in 1897 by DR.. Richard
Pearce of the Argo Smelling work, who
observed it as a black sand accompany
ing some gulch gold sent to him. The
practical discovery Of tin in place was
made 10y Major A. J. Simmons in 1888,
and Professor William p. Blake was
sent to investigate. 1t will be seen that
the parents Of this discovery and its
sponsors in baptism were all eminently
respectable and thoroughly orthodox
Tin bade fair TO become one of the
leading products of the United States,
but meantime the Harney Peak Tin Min
ing company was attacked from all sides.
1t was denounced as a swindle by the
press in London and New York. Sam.
pies were said to have been salted, the
promoters swindlers, and the existence
of tin a myth. Without doubt the pro-
moters and the mine owners in the Black
Hills permitted their zeal TO overrun
their judgment; but it is well to remefn
ber that pieces of tin bearing rock weigh
ing from 900 to $500 pounds cannot be
salted with tin-stone and the Harvey
Peak company agreed to test and a
high fnarcial paper agreed to send rep.
resentatiYe and publish the results"
Dr. Carpenter here tells of the test
which showed 4:29 per cent black tin or
2:94 white tin, and continuing says
This ought to convince any one that
the Harney Peak company had some
tin. But we are not limited to this Sec
ton. To the northwest, about thirty
miles distant, is the Niger Hill or Bear
Gulch section, which has been equally
unfortunate in its development. DR.
Carpenter speaks of the tests OF 1900
pounds of ore shipped from Bear Gulch
by Judge Daniel Mclaughlin in 1886
which yielded SO per cent metallic tin
per ton.
after eighteen years" DR.. Carpenter
continues, "one can hardly understand
the virulence of the fight engaged in by
the Harney Peak company and the Eng.
lish opponents. The Americans may
have honestly believed that anyone who
did not see tin in the transcendent guam
titles were in the employ of Phelps
Dodge & Co.. who were supposed tc
control the importation Of tin, or were
bribed by the English tin plate industry
to belvttle its value. 1t was hardly safe
at the time TO give an honest opinion foi
fear of denunciation. On the other
hand, the English people may have
thought that the discovery and develop
ment of tin in the United States woulC
interfere with their monopoly of the
tin-plate industry in America; hence
the fear of the Harney Peak Tin Mining
company may have been in manner
justified"
Mr.. Carpenter closed his article by
specific mention of several Hills til
properties.
The legislature will meet on January
Sth this winter, and will adjourn OF
March Sth, unless an adjournment b.
taken before the end Of sixty days.