Albuquerque evening citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1905-1907, 1907-05-11
Water Will no Longer Inter.
fere with Gathering of
Yellow Nuggets.
EVENT CELEBRATED
WITH GAY FESTIVITIES
Estimated That Drainage Tunnel
Will Make Possible Mining of
S200.000.000Worth of Ore.

Colorado Springs. May 1.-THE
beginning of work upon the long
projected Cripple Creek drainage tun-
mel was celebrated here today by fes-
tivities participated in by a large
number Of the most prominent min
ing and business men of the state.
The ceremonies took place at the
mouth of the tunnel at o'clock this
afternoon. The big tunnel will un-
water and permit the opening of a
virgin territory containing, II is esti-
mated, over s2O0,0OO,0OO worth of
gold ore and prolong mining life in
Cripple Creek for twenty years 70
come.
The building of the great Cripple
Creek (Colo.) drainage tunnel, which
was inaugurated today by the gov
ernor of the state and distinguished
visitors, marks an epoch in the his
tory of the famous gold camp
Cripple Creek is known from coast
to coast Thousands of persons are
interested i'm its mines. Immense for
tunes have been made beneath its
hills, and it has the distinction of
| having been condemned originally
more strongly than any other sue
cessful mining district in the coun-
try. The government officials and
nearly every mining engineer who ex-
amined the district in its infancy pro-
nounced it worthless. Since that
time the known product from the
district has exceeded 100000, 900,
and this has caused the district to
be called "the richest six miles
square in the world"
Originally Cow Pasture.
1t was originally a COW pasture.
The more or less NEUROLOGICAL origin
of its peculiar name is found in the
legend that countless cattle became
crippled breaking their legs in an ef-
fort to extricate themselves from the
boggy surface of the ground into
which they wandered while feeding.
Some twelve or fourteen years ago
Winfield Scott StrattOn, a poor Colo
rado Springs carpenter, began spend
ing his scant earnings in prospecting
some outcroppings in the Cripple
Creek COW pasture. Every one laugh
ed at him. but on the Fourth of July.
1891, he located a claim on a vein
which gave him rich assays and he
called that claim The Independence.
He subsequently located many other
claims in that neighborhood and a
few years ago sold his property TO an
English syndicate for SIO,OOO,000, af-
ter extracting many millions from II
himself. In the succeeding years the
| Cripple Creek COW pasture was trans
formed into a booming mining camp.
Fortunes were taken from its low
.
almost at grass roots.
When the high grade ore bodies on
the known veins had been extracted
down to the 5O0-fOot point the water
troubles of the district began. A
drainage tunnel was therefore con-
ceived and eventually driven TO cut
| the main water courses of the dis
| trict at a depth of 500 feet, but that
tunnel was not deep enough. The
shafts soon reached the tunnel level
and water troubles were encountered.
The large operators in the district
realized that drastic measures were
necessary. The water courses must
be tapped at great depth I'm order
to drain the mines and make accessi-
BILE the rich ore bodies known to ex-
list deep down i'm the ground Pump
ing is both extensive and uusatisfac-
tory. After long months OF investiga-
| ton II was determined TO drive a
deep drainage tunnel which would
drain the camp at great depth. The
cost of such an undertaking is en-
ormous, approximating one million
dollars.
Tunnel a Necessity
But such a tunnel was an lmpera-
tive necessity. The mine owners. the
citizens Of Colorado and the railroads
and smelters, Joined forces and con-
tributed to the raising Of a funu suf-
icient to drive the tunnel The work
was started a few weeks agO and Is
progressing as fast as men and money
can carry II forward.
The portal of the tunnel is located
on the stream known as Cripple