The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1920-01-15

curious visitors entered and examined
the old workings which had been 30
important q factor In the rehabilita-
ton Of Butte as q mining camp after
iplacer mining had become a thing OF
the past and the seekers Of the yellow
metal had drifted on to distant and
more promising fields.
| Butte lay a deserted village. Only
few Of the brave pioneers who had
part In founding the camp were left
and these sturdy optimistic souls
were openly ridiculed for their stub
born faith that Butte would some day
see a return of the old prosperity.
w. L. Farlin and Joseph Ramsdell
were among those who refused to
leave when placer mining ceased to
pay. Both men worked quartz claims
and during their leisure hours endur-
ed much ridicule for wasting their
time hunting rock that they could
neither smelt nor ship. Thus, in
1869 they were working claims which
promised well, but the prospect Of
actually making them pay appeared
remote indeed.
Mr.. Farlin finally gathered together
bag of samples from his various
claims and took them to Salt Lake
city where he had them assayed. He
was informed that the ore was very
rich in silver and the indomitable
prospector knew that he had finally
almost brought fortune within his
grasp He returned to Butte and
staked out many more claims after
long and tedious term Of prospecting.
January l.. 1875. he relocated 10 Of
these claims and among them was the
Travonla.
Shipments of ore by wagon to Fort
Benton had been made continually
since 1855. The ore contained such a
large amount of silver that these ship
ments were profitable, but the project
to work the ore in Butte promised
much larger profits. The Dexter mill
was built in 1875 and Butte COM
menced to enter upon a period Of
prosperity which made the activities
of the little placer camp a few years
before seem trivial in comparison.
Many of the "deserters" came back
to share in the general prosperity,
while the Trevonia and other mines
were yielding up millions to add to
the worlds store OF wealth. The Ire
vonia mine proved to tap what was
said to be the longest silver lode ever
worked and it is claimed that its like
has never since been found.
Although the old tunnel has been
closed for more than year, the mine
Is still being worked in its lower lev
els and still pays. More than a year
ago, W. A. Clark employed men to
roll ore boulders around and over the
mouth of the old tunnel, effectually
closing it, as he considered 1t danger
Gus to leave the mine open.
Shortly before this was done, a
group of venturesome boys had form
ed robbers band, choosing the old
Travonia tunnel for their rendezvous
While searching for buried treasure
one day, as all small boys have done
at some time or other in their youth
full careers. they came upon a cache
of several hundred dollars in currency.
The find was duly reported to their
elders and the money distributed
among them along with a lot of good
advice as to its investment. This was
the last pay streak found in the old
workings.
The money which the boys found Is
supposed to have been stolen and
cached by some criminal who never
had been afforded the opportunity to
return to his cache and possess him
self of his ill-gotten wealth.