Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1916-07-19
FIRST STORY OF TONOPAH
.Continued from page u

erosion has been very great, but the
quartz, being extremely hard, has
resisted the action of the elements
and, SO far as the lodges are con-
cerned, oxidation has not been radi-
cal, hence the veins crop Immediately
above the country rock. The crop
pings were of such magnitude and the
surface quartz of such peculiar cast
that he was not favorably prepos-
sessed with the general outlook, but
concluded, however, to take a few
samples and have them tested. These
samples were sent to T. L. eddie. of
Belmont. and by whom they were
forwarded to Walter Gayhart at
Austin for treatment. The returns
were promptly received by Mr.. eddie,
but 1t was several weeks before he
met Mr. Butler and apprised him of
their value. The results exceeded
by far his fondest expectations and
created great excitement among those
who were made aware of the richness
of the ore These tests gave a return
of $40 ounces in silver and $206 in
gold. Fabulous though these values
were, Mr.. Butler was still unenthusi-
astic and desired other corroborative
evidence and. through the instrument
tally of Wilkes Brougher. the sam
pies were sent to Frank Higgs, at
Klondike. for him to test, but had
been misplaced and forgotten. were
traced up and yielded 1895 ounces in
silver and 1852 in gold.
Acted With Deliberation
Knowing that it would require
money to perform the requisite
amount of labor under the state law
and also for recording, he debated the
feasibility of the proposition for some
time before he assured himself that
the undertaking was possible At this
time he was holding an Office in
Nye county and his duties in this
respect, coupled with the attention
he was compelled to pay to his ranch,
he did not return to the field of his
discovery until August. Mrs. Butler
accompanied her husband on this
trip and under her persuasion and
influenced by extraordinary assays
Mr.. Butler took much deeper interest
in the matter and Immediately com
menced the work of locating.
Locating Desert Queen
The Desert Queen was the first
location made and recorded in ]. l..
Buffers name. Mrs. Butler located
the Mizpah, one of the richest prop
critics In the group, so far at least as
development has progressed. The
Blackboard was the next location
made in r. c. Chrysler's name, to be
followed by the Red Plume and Sane
Grass by ]. l.. Butler. All these
locations were made on the first day
all being in close proximity, and tn,
identity of the lodges easily discov
cred.
Valley View Located
:, The next day Mrs. Butler found tn,
mammoth groupings of the Vale.
View appearing from five to sever
feet above the surface and abou
thirty feet in width. At a casua
/ glance they concluded it was of n,
great value, but upon breaking TIN
ore and finding it strikingly simila
to the same ore from which grea
value had been returned, 1t wa
accordingly staked off, and subse
quent work demonstrated it to b
one of the most important, with tn
exception of the Mizpah, in the entir
group. The ground was CAREFUL,
searched for the presence of othe
veins. but becoming satisfied that tn,
locations made embraced the entir,
| groupings of the mineral zone MI
and Mrs. Butler departed for Belmont
taking seventy-five samples from tn,
different lodges with them for treat
ment.
Decides on Leasing
No further action was taken unit
| October 8, 1900, when Mr.. Butler
accompanied by W. Brougher an,
T. L. eddie, both of Belmont, re
turned to the field and commence,
the extraction of ore. News of tn,
great strike spread rapidly and pros
| pectors and miners, ever alert TO
new fields in which to ply their voca
tons, soon sought the new Eldorado
and Mr.. Butler and those intereste,
with him. concluding the work the.
would be compelled to perform wa
greater than they could carry out a
that time, conceived the idea of leas
ing the lodges in parcels of 100 fee
along the veins, and by so doing no
only get the various locations pros
pected but obtain substantial financia