Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-01-15

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in the wild free life thus provided. How
different from the amending noise,
strife and turmoil OF Chicagol
I found no assay equipment on the
ground. That modiste was frugal. AS
savers are expensive. Obviously she de-
pended upon the Judgment Of her fore
man as to what should be considered
paw ore. Quite likely she sent occasional
samples to Butte asSayerS. There were
narrow streaks Of fairly rich ore IN
those shallow holes but there was no
considerable body Of such ore.
with the little mill pounding away
day and night on supposedly rich ore,
the unfortunate modisJe JoyouSly
climbed here and there the while her
well ordered. What a glorious LIE COM
pared with that which, for so long, she
had suffered in Chicago!
With the first cleanup came pro-
found shock. The scanty concentrate
was too poor to ship and very little
amalgam came from the plate. The
modiste suspected the honesty OF her
nlillmen whom she discharged. Like
wise she discharged her mine foreman
and his crew. She had heard OF high
grading but she could prove nothing
against the men. In Butte, with the
help Of the broker, she employed a new
crew. The next cleanup was no better.
Disillusioned and profoundly disguised
the poor soul packed her bedding and
personal effects; and, with her house
hold servants, hit pell-men for Chicago.
Experience Valuable
My young wife and spent q delight
full summer vacation in that bungalow
the while recovering from Butte smoke
and overwork. The following spring, TO
an enthusiastic young man of Chicago.
I sold my lease and option for $500
a godsend-for US! felt little guilty,
but what would you? could not swear
the property to be worthless. Long since
it has returned to rust and dust, a
that has so largely handicapped the
mining industry In Montana.
MY two years experience in Jardine,
where profits are still being secured,
allowed me to realize that parts of the
great mass of mountains known as the
Absarokas, the northern limits Of which
tower shortly south of Livingston, are
highly mineralized Therefore, accord
ing to my hereditary habit, spent
many holidays and vacations there
about
In Mill creek canyon, IS miles south
of Livingston, found an old prospect
hole from which had been taken con-
siderable moderately rich Silver-lead
ore. 1t was seven miles by dangerous
trail from the nearest valley road. and
IL miles from the nearest railway.
Water had caused the original locatorS
to abandon it. located three claims on
this ground, one of which patented.
Left Holding Bag
At length, after having somewhat de-
veloped the well-defined vein, gave
a two-year lease and option to eastern
capitalists. The purchase price was
$4,000 and 10 percent Of their capital
stock. During the first year they spent,
unjudiciously, some $4,000 on the
ground. Believing that the property was
being damaged, had row with their
engineer" My quarrel with him was
not good business, but it was good
ethics. After a long series of squabbles
the deal was called off and was left
holding the bag. I am still holding It..
Prior to all this, during the summer
of 1905, I proSpected much Of Boulder
canyon which In part marks the boun-
Diary between Park and Sweetgrass
counties This should not be confused
with the Boulder valley and canyon
which lies between Helena and Butte
Our Boulder canyon is great rift in
the AbsarokaS extending some 30 miles
nOrthWard from the Boulder-Slough
creek divide to Contact, 30 miles south
of Big Timber. The region is immensely
rugged and picturesque with enclosing
steep, ragged ramparts rising TO an av-
erage of 5000 feet above the narrow
canyon floor on either side.
With portable assay outfit and COM
Portable camp equipment prowled
that alluring, ragged canyon and Its
rugged rampartS during the greater
part of two summer months the while
making hundreds Of assays. / investi-
gated some five or six abandoned small
gold mills. All had suffered the fate OF
the Chicago widows Homestake DO
nanza." ALI had been engineered by in
experienced enthusiasts or by wildcat
promoters or by. both. All are still In
decaying inactivity.
Gold in Boulder Canyon
Yet there is gold in our delightful
Boulder canyon, and much else of
value. One of the greatest deposits of
chromite in the known world begins
in the canyon near Contact and extends
almost unbroken nearly 20 miles east
ward across the northern limits of the
Absarokas. AS yet the costs Of mining,
treatment and transportation have pre-
vented profitable exploitation Of this
remarkable deposit. :,
Many promising prospects of gold
quartz have been opened IN the ram
parts of the canyon, but the veins are
mostly small, badly broken and very
base. Two districts showing rich silver
lead ore are known. One, on the north
ern flank of Baboon mountain at the
head of the canyon has been partly
opened, but costs of mining at 5000
feet above sea level and so miles Of
transportation on poor mud roads have
thus far prevented profits. Near Con-
tact, at about the same altitude on the
eastern rim of the west Boulder plateau
there is another showing of rich silver
lead ore as yet unworked.
For q time camped with A. B.
| Gould at Contact, where / was allowed
| to use his abandoned log saloon as an
assay office. There made the &C
/ quaintance of several old sourdough
! prospectors. I made many assays for
them. yet I did not wholly gain their
confidence. For the most part the old
time proSpector is more or less inno-
cent and in many ways an incompe-
tent mineralogist who lives mostly on
beans, sowbelly, whisky and sourdough
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