Glacier County chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1931-1940, 1939-03-24

bucket dredge" built in the United
states was that constructed at Ban
mack in 1894. The gold boats cost $780,
ooO or more. the speaker said. -Four
more were built there and a total of
seven dredges were built to work Alder
gulch," he said.
The latest bucket dredge at RUBY
Dug the gravel to a depth of IS feet
below the surface. Most of the latest
dredges are known as drag lines
where the single bucket scoops up the
gravel from the pit and deposits it in
separate scow, where the gold is re-
covered from the gravel by washing. /"
Recent Dredging
Recent dredging operations have
been carried on at Alder gl1lch. last
Chance, Prickly Pear. Grasshopper and
Gold Creek, the speaker said.
The first quartz mining was done
at Bannack in 1862, Barker said. eva
nidation followed later and proved a
boon to the gold miners Later, in the
case OF complex ores, more than one
meIal was recovered by flotation.
The famous Drum Lummon mine at
Marysville was discovered by Tommy
CRUISE, prospector who was flat
broke and who was grubstaked by an
Armenian storekeeper" Cruise later
set the Armenian up in business in
grand style" the speaker said.
SILVER Mining
Inc first silver mines in Montana
Wing and Argenta districts west of
Dillon. The ores were mainly silver
lead and the first lead smelter in the
state was built at Argenta in 1865. The
first silver mill was built at Phillips
burg. The first lode locations around
Butte were made for silver and gold
IN the summer of 1864 Some of them
hnnarf,n
the speaker said. The milling cost for
ores in those days was $50 per ton.
so the miners had to have good ore to
make profit, Barker stated. The
silver mining industry grew rapidly in
Butte and by 1887 a total of 29O op-
orators were crushing silver ores in the
various mills, he said.
Specimen Mine
Inc Gable mine, he said, is a speci-
men mine. The Cornish Slope in the
Gable is more than $50 feet hiph and
wide and not a stick of timber in If :"
He referred to the Only Chance mine
mat IS now being operated by the
Butte-Highlands Co. He said, although
being operated today, it was located
in 1867.
The Hope company at Philipsburg. he
sad, built the first silver mill in Mon
tana. The town is named for Philin
Diedsheimer, 1.-The inventor of the
square set timbering" He told of Gran
lite Mountain mining stock which sold
at 70 cents share at the beginning
put which was later on worth $50 a
share.
After reviewing the history of the
Philipsburg district he took up the
Butte held covering the many silver
ington, with many sidelights on han
penings Of the long ago 1t was almost
daily occurrence, he said, to see 20
to 80 bars of silver piled up in front
OF the Butte express offices. He de-
scriDed many of the outstanding men
OF the early days-among them: Cap
tam Emerson, D: D. Budd, and Sam
he had found malicious mineral in
the tunnel under Big Butte. Zinc in
the early days, he said, was yariously
called black jack" resin jack" and
Plant in Helena
The lead smelter Of the American
smelling q Refining. Co., he said, was
Is still in operation.
Some tin, he said, has been found
IN the Mountain View mine. In 1893
DR.. Traphagen made 25-pound bar
from tin found in placer gravels hear
Lime Spur. A prospector Of the 1906
brought samples from what he declared
was "the greatest silver mine in the
world" When he found his silver"
was tin he became disguised and never
mentioned his prospect again. Arsenic,
platinum, chromium, sapphire fields,
zonolite, lime, phosphate. gypsum, mar
BILE, asbestos, iron and travertine were
all touched on as Montana mineral
deposits. Coal, oil and gas were also
discussed. The Montana Power, he said,
has ohoart Am yv1floa NJ 0os rovsvv,i ..io,,
manganese production. the ore coming
from Phi1ip1brg and Butte.
The earliest concentration Of mink