Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1911-06-08

too far from the railroad to make prof.
table shipments to the market, and was
too easy going to think of putting in
little mill which would handle the mine
product on the ground and netting him
from $25 to $50 day. He wanted |
something big, and so he interested
eastern parties with him, who sent out
a mining engineer, who had spent his
life in iron mines, to examine and re-
port upon the property. When he pan
ned some of the quartz and got d good
string of colors in the pan he went into
rraptures, and recommended the pur-
chase of the property. Then he insisted
upon the building of 200-ton mill,
which was done. During the installa-
tion of this equipment, however, he
never had more than three men at work
in mine development, and when the
plant went into commission the tunnel
was in only 800 feet and the daily out
put could not be forced to more than
fifteen tons The board of directors,
when confronted with the situation,
sent out a real, live engineer, who
recommended that $3.50, 600 be expended
in mine development before another
effort was made to start up the mill.
EWhen the company heard this its pres
Eident tainted, and the directors set up
the cry that it had been gold bricked.
And yet the mine might have made
good had it been looked upon merely as
prospect, and had it been worked as
such by two or three men who were
willing to follow the ore and reduce it
on the ground in small milling plant,
even if it were nothing more than an
old-style arrastra; and this reminds
me of an experience in had down in
Mule Ear gap few years ago.
/ "In that isolated region where the
burros never trimmed their whiskers
and where the pioneer settlers chewed
tobacco and ate their fap-jacks and
sow-belly at one and the same time, l
found likely prospect which develop
ed ten to fifteen inches of ore that was
free-milling and that carried values of
from SIS to 500 to the ton. Right
back of my discovery was beautiful
little waterfall. ! was all alope, but l
decided to work the mine and was de-
termined to make it pay. started a
shaft and near its. collar l built little
one stamp mill. To run this put in a
water wheel, and arranged it 80 that
rope, attached to it's crank shaft,
would raise a bucket of ore, or waste
out of the mine. The bucket, was
} dumped, automatically, into the ore-bin
and the ore vas fed, also automatically
into the stamp battery. In the morn
ing would SIT the wheel going, which
) started the mill. Then would go down
: the shaft and fill the bucket with ore.
5 By pulling rope l threw on the hoist
J clutch which pulled the bucket up.
t After dumping, the bucket would come
= down the shaft again. and while 1 was
4 Egetting out ore, the, mill would be
J pounding away. At night / cleaned
i the plate, and generally took off from
q $50 to $50 in gold amalgam. In this
way made a nice little sum daily, ant
Y at the same time continued the devel
j opment of my prospect with but very
D little expense. During the season
a took out from $4,000 to $4,000, ant
: when winter came l was in shape tt
S take rest and enjoy myself a little
n The next Spring had an offer to sci
S 1.-THE property, which did for $50, 1000
: a prospect price. The buyer knew hi
S business and continued the development
r of the mine, which now has a hal
u million in sight, and which is just nov
a being equipped wish ten-stamp mill
It 81 want to tell you, Old Long Ears,
S concluded the prospector, lone canno
y expect baby burro to do the work o
e full-grown jack, any more than yo
is could expect a prospect to make tn
lie same showing that a fully-develope
l. mine could; But, there are people VIII
D, cannot see the difference between tn
ID two, the result being that they build
it 200-ton mill on a mere prospect, an
1t make dead failure; and there you ar
j, and then some"