Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1909-09-04
HoMEsTAKE MINING PLANT.
Address Of It. J. Grier Before the South
Dakota Pharmaceutical Associas
ton Held In Lead.

/ tioh aCiu Al 11cbus
Superintendent T. J. Grier, of the
Homestake Mining company of Lead.
gave very interesting epitome OF
history and magnitude of the greatest
gold mining plant in the world, the
Homestake. His address was as follows:
"Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen:
After listening to the eloquent address
of Mr.. Martin, our able representative
in congress, in whom we are all so well
pleased, am afraid l shall make very
dismal failure in any attempt that 1 may
make to entertain or amuse you for q
few moments.
"About three weeks ago received q
program of the proceedings to be held OF
the twenty. fourth annual convention Of
the South Dakota Pharmaceutical ssso
citation to be held on August 18th to 2lst
inclusive. at the city of Lead. and was
surprised to learn from it that, on the
| first day of the convention there was to
| be an address or paper devoted to brief
history of the Homestake mining plant
by its superintendent. A day or two
later, there came letter from the secre-
tary Of the association, who is also a
compounder Of programs, asking me to
have filed at once the prescription that
he had had printed in the program and
to take the medicine as directed. am
not permitted even after shaking the
bottle well, to take teaspoonful every
four hours until relieved, but have to
swallow the whole darn thing at one
dose. l think when your secretary
diagnosed my case and undertook pre-
scribing for it, that he was BENT on
doing me mischief.
There has been written and also said
about the finding and the development
Of the Homestake 30 much of a pleasant
nature during the past thirty years, that,
although to the discoverer recitals and
repetitions of the tales may sound like
the Sweetest Story Ever Told l fear
that many others would hearken to the
more than Twice Told Tale with such
feelings of WEAKNESS that hesitate at
the possibility of being charged with the
crime of SC inflictlng them.
~ need not tell you that it is only
little more than three decades ago that
the Sioux Indians we're the owners of
the country around about us, and that
that band of sayages we're wont to seek
the places where to them true Joy Was
to be found, oftentines betook them
selves to within what are now the ex-
terror boundaries of the Homestake
property to disport themselves generally
and to engage in the hnnt. The change
that has come oyer the scene since those
days is manifest to all, gigantic indus
try has risen on the playground of our
aborigines, schools of learning stand on
the spot with their doors open wide for
our children to enter, bethels portals
stand ajar welcoming those of contrte
hearts, while a we'll ordered city has
been substantially built and now occupies
the grazing grounds of the wild animals
upon which the red men fed.
"As you all know, the finding Of the
Homestake in 1875, was preceded by a
military expedition in the Hills country
by General Custer, accompanied by
Geologist Winchell in 1874, and also
one by Biologists Newton and Jenney
in 1875. Each expedition having with
it number of miners and prospectors,
all sent by the secretary of the interior
for the purpose of determining whether
or notthe stories of the western pioneers
were true that gold occurred in this
region.
"rhe Homestake having finally been
found, soon passed into the hands of
capitalists with ample resources to do
that which was requisite and necessary
in order to make it renumerative alike
to operator and operative.
Development work, once well under
way, has continued almost without
interruption, for more than thirty years,
until today we have in our state what
some one has called the greatest gold
mine in the world.
II will not take up your time by dis
cussing, in detail, either the geology of
the mine or the mining and metallurgv
of its ores. Suffice it to say that all
questions of practice in all departments
OF the company'S service have been met
as they have presented themselves in a
satisfactory manner it is believed, thanks
to the ability. industry and loyalty ofits
operatives, 10 all of whom should be
accorded full measure of credit for
their assistance in building to its present
magnitude an industry which our city
views with such pride and, We hope,
our state and nation looks upon with
much pleasure.
"a few figures from the statistical
bureau of the company, which do not
appear In its annual report, will probably
be of some interest.
Underground, there are twenty COM
pressed air motors operated at a pressure
of $50 pounds to the square inch, and
more then fifty miles of T rail track over
which they haul ore to the shafts.
1.-TWO hundred compressed air drills
operated at a pressure of S. pounds tc
the souare inch are necessary TO mine
the ore and break it to q size easily
handled by the underground operatives
NEARLY 5000 pounds of dynamite are
used every twenty-four hours to bias
the ore.
"There are more than million and I
half tons of ore broken in the mine anC