Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1937-07-17

III.
The Black Bull produced several thousand
tons Of ore. some Of which was quite rich.
but the milling average, the assayer told me,
was about $3.50 per ton gold. Eventually the
ore body pinched to a small size and the
company decided to suspend operations The
Black Bull has lately been acquired by some
local people who have made several shipments
Of ore. and, I am informed have struck a
new lead that looks very promising.
The ORC Cache mine has been worked under
lease by various parties, most Of the leasers
making a good profit. The mine has been idle
for some time now. II has been estimated BY
those familiar with the property that the ORC
Cache produced more than s2,500.O00. and the
mine has been developed hardly at all below
the level Of the mill.
The Spotted Horse mine has been more in
the public eye and ear than any other Of the
carly day mines because Of the spectacular
success made on the property by P. w. Meadow
at a time when he was about on his uppers.
Whatever yIcissitudeS he may have encoun-
tered in his earlier years Nature certainly
made a pet Of him in his operations on the
Spotted Horse.
It was. believe. in the spring Of 1884, that
Skookum Joe and Dave Jones decided to try
reducing Spotted Horse ore with two arrastres.
Meadow who lived at Billings. agreed to IL
nance the enterprise, and sent over as a power
unit a traction engine he had been using at
a sawmin on the Yellowstone. The plant was
built and a months run made and the whole
business proved to be flop The gold. while
in a metallic state, was coated with some kind
Of mineral that prevented amalgamation The
scheme had cost Meadow $4,000 which was
the size Of his bankroll at that time.
BY previous agreement with his partners.
Meadow took over their interests in the prop
erty and became sole owner He tried for some
time to sell the mine for the $4,000 he was
in on it.. Also several promoters tried to sell
it, one OF them going back east and spending
two months in an effort to make a deal But
there was nothing doing It now became highly
obvious that the only way he could recover
his $4,000 was to take it out Of the mine
He had recently married a lady who had
for some time had been cashlng time checks
along the grade of the N. P. railroad and who
had accumulated $4,000 She agreed to put
this money into the mine, but It was not
enough. Buildings, a power unit and
grinding machinery we're needed. This would
cost at least $4,000 more making $4,000 al
together that would be needed to shape things
ready to take money out Of the mine. But
McAdoW concluded TO chance It, He managed
TO borrow $4,000 which he added to his wife's
capital, moved from Billings to the mine and
began operations.
There was ore in sight except what
showed on the bottom Of the drift in the old
discovery shaft. Meadow started tunnel that
would tap the ore in the drift about rs feet
deeper II the vein was still there. At the same
time. he began the erection of mill buildings
He purchased three and one-half foot Hunt
ington centrifugal mill. and obtained for a
nominal figure, an engine from a smelter at
Maiden that had been built some years before
anu because OF lack OF ore naQ never started
up. On the same day the mill was completed
the tunnel encountered the ore body, and in a
few days the mill started grinding ore The
mill got in three months run before winter
halted operations. The cashier of the Lewis
town bank told me that in those three months
he had cashed bullion checks for Meadow to
the amount Of over 100000. And he said he
did not cash all Of Meadows checks.
During the summer Of 1888 there had been
a very disastrous failure at the Collar mine
about n Maiden
company had purchased the mine and erected
a very fine 20-stamp mill OF the Boss process
for reducing the ore which carried some copper
and little silver. After running the mill one
month, the showing was such that the COM
pany quit in disgust. This company had ex-
pended about $4,000 in cash and quit owing
about $75000 which was never paid The last
superintendent for the company, Eugene
Smith. had several hundred dollars back sal
airy due him, and he had taken possession Of
the works and was holding them for what
was due him. There seemed no likelihood Of
the Collar Co. paying, so Smith approached
Meadow and offered to sell him the whole
Collar works mill, mine, and appurtenances
for $500. It seemed a good bargain to Nc
Adow and he made the deal, and got away
with It,
In the spring Meadow started building
new mill and also began running new tun-
mel lower down as the ore was all worked
cut Of the upper tunnel He moved over from
the Collar, ten Of the stamps the large Corliss
new mill.
The min was within a few weeks OF com
pletion and no ore body had yet been en-
countered in the new tunnel The face OF the
tunnel was fifty or more feet beyond where
the ore occurred in the upper tunnel and
there was nothing in sight except some kidneys
of very rich telluride that occurred oc-
casionally along the porphyry contact. hap
pen to know because / was working on the
contact in another drift at the time. About
rs feet back from the face Of the main tunnel
i4-inch streak Of iron ran into the lime
at right angles from the tunnel and porphyry
wall one Of the miners advised the foreman
to PUT q man on that iron streak and follow
It q ways into the lime. The foreman put q
miner named Kelly to work there. Just about
the time the mill was ready to run, Kelly en-
countered the ore body that was later called
the bonanza stope. 1t was circular in form and
over 60 feet in diameter and averaged over
$50 per ton gold. No one, Of course, knows the
amount Of Meadows profit from the bonanza
stope. But it was generally rated at over
$500 900.
After the bonanza Slope was pretty well
mined out from the tunnel level to the sur
face, Meadow received an offer to take q
bond and lease on the mine from the Jay
Gould Mining Co. He accepted the offer and
turned the property over to them. Meadow
moved to Florida and built purchased a
home there. Part Of the Jay Gould Co s
contract with Meadow was an agreement for
the company to remove to the Spotted Horse
the remaining ten stamps and other machinery
at the Collar mine, ana construct an enLifely
new mill at the Spotted Horse The Jay Gould
Co. placed a man named Downs In charge Of
operations, and he imported q lot Of new
miners from Butte and made many other
changes from the routine Of the old regime
It soon developed, however. that the Butte
miners we're not very efficient at handlins
the limestone In the Spotted Horse so the
old miners we're rehred.
The new mill was built and everything APP
peared to be going along in excellent shape
But after something over two years OF operat-
ing, the jay Gould Co. quit, and the book
keeper who was an intimate friend Of mine
told me 1t quit $4,000 In the red. The mine
Of course, came back 10 Meadow and as ne
one else seemed to want It, Meadow con.
cluded to come back to the mine He started
operations at once and ran the mine for Q
year or so and according TO his own admis-
sion, took another 100000 out Of the mine
He then sold the property to an eastern
company for an unstated sum In cash, anc
purchased new home In Michigan and mads
that his permanent home until he died soms
years later.
1t must not be considered that Meadows
success was due entirely TO luck. He was 6
man Of broad education and had a very keer
mind and q marvellous grasp Of detail Lake
many Of the state pioneers he could turn his
hand to anything and at various times had op-
Grated sawmills, flour mills, and general stores
| At the Spotted Horse he superintendent tni